Anathema
by Misteree Gurl
Summary: A few months ago I was worried about adjusting to my new school, of course that was before I fell for the local werewolf. Crazy right? Wait until you hear what my brother does for a living. HitsuKarin
1. The Spectacular Six

**Hey people! Some of you are probably thinking what the hell am I doing posting a new fic when I haven't updated _What I Need_ for so long. Well I've been having killer writer's block on it and this was something I wrote to help, which it has... sort of. I promise _What I Need _will be updated soon.**

**So this is a HitsuKarin fic because the pairing has become another one of my obsessions. The inspiration for this came to me when I was watching _Underworld_:_ Rise of the Lycans _and I just thought, "Screw vampires, those werewolves were kick ass!". So a lot of the things you'll hear later about werewolves are some of my ideas but most are popular myths. Anyways i hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

All I could think right now as I hauled one of my suitcases into our new house was that I want to go home.

My name Karin Kurosaki, I'm 15 years old, and I'm being forced to move to a new town and go to a new school. I wouldn't go as far as to say my life sucks, but its seen better days. My dad made us move from Karakura to this place called Seireitei. Something about getting better business for the clinic. My twin sister Yuzu doesn't seem to mind although Ichigo was on my side with this. He didn't want to leave his friends just like me, but he was more willing since Rukia a.k.a his girlfriend was coming too. She kind of had too since she lived with us.

I like Rukia, but sometimes I feel like she took my big brother away. Ever since they got together about three years ago, he was always spending time with her and didn't even bother to come home some times. Of course I'd never admit that out loud. Besides Rukia is really cool and its great having her around and on my side when I have to try and persuade Ichigo about something. After awhile Rukia moved in with us which our dad didn't mind at all. I still don't get him sometimes.

"Karin, quit spacing out! You're blocking the door." I heard Ichigo call behind me.

"Huh?" I turned around and realized I had actually stopped right in the doorway of the front door to the new house. I quickly walked forward and straight up to my room to set down my stuff. The only plus side to moving was that I got my own room. Me and Yuzu got two separate rooms on the second floor while Dad's room was on the first floor. Ichigo and Rukia were sharing a room – yeah, ew – on the second floor with us. I guess it was fine as long as they weren't up all night. Before I actually had to wear earmuffs to block their late night noises.

I had skipped dinner so I could fix up my room the way I wanted. The walls were already painted a light green. The color wasn't my first choice but it was better than Yuzu's which was an unbearable yellow with flowers on the borders. When I was done, I looked over the room pretty satisfied. My furniture was where I wanted and my soccer posters covered over half my room.

Looking at the clock, it was just past 9pm. There would probably still be some food leftover that I could just heat up in the microwave. I was surprised to find everyone still downstairs, they were all on the couch watching TV. On the wall by the dinning table was that giant poster of Mom that Dad had already put up.

"Bout time you came down. We all thought you died up there." Ichigo said upon seeing me come down.

"Sorry to disappoint." I replied sarcastically. I walked into the kitchen to see they had already eaten all the food. "Thanks for saving me some dinner." I stated dryly.

Rukia looked over and gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry Karin. We thought you were in for the night."

"I could make you something if you want." Yuzu offered.

I just shock my head. "Thats alright." I turned around to head back upstairs. "I'm going to bed." I just wanted today to be over already.

"Goodnight Karin!" Dad yelled after me. "And don't forget. You guys got your first day of school tomorrow!" he yelled loudly as though we weren't all in the same room.

Yuzu and Rukia looked pretty happy about school while Ichigo and I groaned. I was _not_ looking forward to school the next day. Tomorrow would officially be my first day in Seireitei.

_I was standing in front of an old looking tomb. The doors to the temple looking tomb were wide open but there was only darkness inside. I contemplated whether to go in or not but finally curiosity got the best of me. Walking through the doorway, each step I took made an eerie creak from the wooden floor. I looked behind me and five other figures followed in suit. One of the figures lit a candle but even then I couldn't see their faces._

_I looked around the empty cellar like room but there was literally nothing but dust. "See," I called to the others. "There is nothing here. It is just a legend to scare away small children."_

_The others behind me murmured their agreements and we turned around to leave the small tomb. Suddenly my foot fell through one of the cracked floorboards. The bottom of my foot hit something hard that I knew wasn't the ground underneath the structure. I pulled my leg out the hole and l tried to look inside. The others came back with the candle so we could try and see what was under the floor. We began pulling up the wood, board by board. After awhile there was a gaping hole in the tomb floor and inside it was a casket._

_I stared at it for a few moments before crawling down the hole next to it. I brushed off the dust that was resting on the lid of the stone coffin. The others jumped down with me into the hole. On the top of it was what looked like an inscription._

_One of the figures nudged me. "What does it say? You are the only one who can read." said a guy._

_I glanced it over without actually reading it. "Its a warning." I stated._

"_A warning? Then maybe we should listen and leave before we get in trouble." this time a girl stated._

"_Yeah, I mean. We proved its here. We do not need to do anything that could get us hurt." a different but female voice said._

"_Get us hurt? We have yet to do anything. Besides, we still need to see if he is really in there before we leave." said another guy._

"_Just read it then we will take a quick look inside." reasoned a different male._

_I nodded at the figures and looked down at the epigraph. I said it out loud as I read it._

_**Hari Mingan**_

_**He who seeks gifts, shall die where thy stand,**_

_**He who bares gifts, shall see morrow,**_

_**He who bares in vain, shall take my curse,**_

_**He who is sincere, shall accept my blessing,**_

_**Both blessing and curse are one in the same,**_

_**As immortality shall cause thy burdens,**_

_**Disturb thy rest and rue this day,**_

_**Til the damned finds true acceptance,**_

_**But those who dare accept the accursed,**_

_**Shall perish til thy sin is forgotten,**_

_**Lest my malediction be lifted,**_

_**Both shall live the lives of a wretch.**_

_As I finished reading the script I noticed how deadly silent my companions had gotten. I turned to see them all in deep thought. Most likely trying to decide whether to open the casket or not._

"_It says we'll die if we didn't bring gifts." said a girl._

"_Well then we will just give it something. Who has anything worth value?" asked one of the guys._

_The six of us looked to each other. No one had anything. I looked down and remembered the necklace that my grandmother had given me. It was a pure silver four-pointed star on an old rusted chain. It was the only thing we had. I sighed and took the chain from around my neck. "We can use this." I stated somewhat begrudgingly._

"_Are you sure?" the same girl asked. "Your Grandmother gave that to you."_

_I shrugged at her. "If I don not, we all die right?" I set it down on top of the stone coffin. As soon as it left my hand it seemed to melt into the stone. We all took an involuntary step back., but I could not back down now. My hands rested on the edge of the lid as I readied myself to push. "Alright, help me push the lid off."_

_We all grabbed an edge and began to push and pull. Once the lid was removed we all looked into the casket. We gasped at what we saw. _

"_So it is true." breathed one of the figures._

_Inside was a skeleton easily five times the size of us. But what was the most shocking was it was that of a wolf-like figure. The skull was huge with sharp teeth sticking out, long claws protruding from it's – what we assumed – its paws. It had a thick spinal cord that shrunk into the tail, a wide rib cage and long legs that looked like they could run for miles on end. As scary as the sight was and as crazy as I felt thinking it, I had the urge to get closer to the creature as though a force was drawing me in._

_There was no doubt. This was the skeleton of Hari Mingan._

_A sudden gust of wind picked up but from where we didn't know. It was powerful, to the point where we had to duck down as to not get knocked over. I grabbed onto the coffin to pull myself up while still fighting the insanely strong wind. My eyes widened when I realized it was all coming from the casket. I looked in and began to tremble with the unmistakable feeling of fear that washed over me. The skeleton was starting to grow flesh. The others did the same as me and saw the skeleton soon come to life._

"_We need to get out of here!" I yelled to the others. Before I could move, the creature grabbed onto my arm. It's claws dug into my skin as I tried to pull away. The group of five came to my side and held onto me as they tried to pry the fleshy claw off me. The creature sat up and looked at all of us before letting out and ear shattering howl which seemed to shake the whole tomb._

_There was no skin or fur to cover the exposed flesh that hung off it's bones. It bared it's sharp long teeth as a low constant growl was heard from it's throat. The flesh was rotted, bloody, and smelled horrifically. It's eyes were fire red that stiffened us all with one look. The long claws that were still digging into my right bicep pulled me closer to the casket. I could see my blood soaking through the sleeve of my shirt and felt the sharp pain constantly jolt through my shoulder. It pulled me close until I was face to face with the wolf-like creature. It opened it's mouth wide as though it were going to swallow me whole. I quickly closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen next._

"No!" I screamed as shot up from my sleep. I looked around to see that I was in my room and let out a sigh of relief. That was some scary dream... or nightmare... or whatever it was. It just felt so real, like it really happened. It wasn't a normal dream, thats for sure. It was more like I was watching it happen rather than me actually doing anything. I subconsciously rubbed my upper arm thinking about it. I looked at my clock and practically fell out of bed. It was freaking 8:00am! School started in 30 minutes!

I quickly ran into the bathroom and did the morning necessities. I put on a pair of shorts that reached a little above my knees and a t-shirt that was 2 sizes too small, but it was the only shirt that wasn't still packed. Why was it so small? Over the years I happened to develop boobs. Who would've thought? At least we didn't have to wear uniforms like in Karakura. I quickly combed threw my black hair which just barely touched my shoulders. Once I was done and ran downstairs I saw everyone was already gone. Those bastards! They didn't even bother to wake me up.

I ran all the way to the damn school and was _still_ late. I walked through the empty halls looking for my classroom. That was something that was the same though. We had the same classroom and teacher all day instead of having a different room and teacher for each class. Here we only changed rooms to go to gym. That slightly annoyed me. That meant if the teacher or the students were a pain in the ass, I'd have to deal with them all day. On the sheet of paper the lady in the office gave me was the number to the room I was standing outside of.

I let out a sigh and opened the door. I walked into the room and apparently interrupted what the teacher was saying because now every eye was on me. Great. I ignored the entire class, not bothering to even look at them. I was just hoping I could give the teacher my note and go to a seat without any incident. The teacher looked at paper.

"I see, you're the other Kurosaki I was expecting." the man said smiling at me.

The other? Did I have the same class as Yuzu? I looked around the room trying to find my light haired twin but instead saw my orange haired older brother. Ichigo? And Rukia? What the hell was I doing in the same room as them? Then it hit me. I had signed up for advanced classes so I wouldn't have to deal with brats my own age. Not my smartest moment. So now they put me in a class full of kids older than me and whats worse, I got it with my idiot brother and his girlfriend.

I looked at the rest of the room. There were some odd ones. One guy had the brightest shade of red I've ever seen for hair. It was in a pineapple ponytail and he had some crazy tribal tattoos on his forehead. There was also some chick with blonde hair and boobs that were bigger than that Orihime girl's back in Karakura! There was a bald guy whose head was blinding me and some weird _person_ next to him. I didn't know if it was a girl or a boy but they had these feather things on their eye. Yes, I got a class full of older freaks.

The only ones who looked about my age were a boy and a girl. The girl was cute, she had dark brown hair in some bun cloth thing. She was sitting next to the boy. He had the craziest hair yet. It was white! But I had to admit that it looked pretty cool the way it just defied gravity and all. He turned his head in my direction and I think I almost jumped when I saw his eyes. They were a deep teal color that just stunned me. To be honest, everything about him just screamed drop-dead gorgeous. But being me, I wouldn't let that make be swoon over the guy or any guy for that matter. I had more class than that. But when he was looking at me I couldn't help but feel self-conscious for the first time.

I suddenly became aware of how small my shirt really was. Over half the guys were staring and didn't even bother to hide it. Shameless bunch of dogs.

"I'm Mr. Ukitake. How about you introduce yourself to the class." he said still smiling. What is this kindergarten? Who makes someone in high school introduce themselves in front of everyone.

I sighed again, and had a feeling I would being doing that a lot today. "I'm Karin Kurosaki." I drawled. If I didn't sound eager to be here, he might let me go.

"Tell us something about yourself." he continued. Seriously if this was kindergarten let me know, cause I was in the class if it was.

"Uh..." I stopped to think. "I play soccer." I threw out hoping he would just let me sit down already.

"And how are you liking Seireitei so far?" When will it end?!

"It sucks ass." I snapped. I couldn't stand being here anymore. The class broke out into laughter at my response while Ichigo gave me a look which I could only assumed meant 'Whats your problem?'. My response would be 'Life'.

The teacher just chuckled and shook his head _still_ freaking smiling. Did anything get on this guy's nerves? If my language wasn't going to get me kicked out then I had better start practicing my seizure act.

Mr. Ukitake was looking for a place for me to sit while I stood in front of the room waiting. As long as I didn't get stuck in the front I wouldn't mind where. Suddenly my stomach growled. Ugh. I was so late I didn't have time to get breakfast and on top of that, I didn't have dinner last night. I quickly glances around to see if anyone heard my stomach complain to me but not even the teacher noticed. Although when I looked at the class, about six of them were chuckling under their breath. Well five. The sixth one which happened to be Whitey – thats what I'm calling him til I know his name – was just looking at me with amusement in his eyes. Had they heard that?

"Theres an empty seat in the back if you don't mind being back there." Thank you! You are now my favorite teacher of all time!

"Its fine."

The back was my safe haven. I didn't have to worry about people throwing stuff at the back of my head or someone staring at me like a stalker. Hell, I could probably even get some sleep back here. Best thing to happen to me all day.

I wish I could say lunch came soon but it didn't. Lunch was so late here! We had class all day, then lunch, then P.E. and then we go home. The schedule seemed to work out comfortably for the teachers but not the students.

Lunch was crazy. It was so crowded and we weren't allowed to go outside. They crammed us all in a stuffy little cafeteria. I looked around for an open table and saw Yuzu waving for me to come over. I went to the table and sat next to Yuzu and across from Ichigo and Rukia. They were talking to two guys. One had black hair and the other had blonde.

"Karin, why is your shirt so small?" Yuzu asked me while I was zoned out.

"I was in a bit of a rush." I replied irritably.

"You're not eating lunch today?"

Oh I was going to eat all right. "Well I didn't have time to get any money since _some_ _people_ didn't bother to wake me up this morning!" Ichigo and Rukia looked at me. That got their attention. "So I'm just gonna starve myself."

"We tried to wake you up but your door was locked and you wouldn't answer so we just thought you were ignoring us." Ichigo defended.

"Well you guys still owe me for eating everything last night so I'm entitled to one thing from each of your lunches." I declared smoothly. Rukia handed me a sandwich, Ichigo gave me a juice, and Yuzu gave me a muffin. Ha ha, I always win.

I was about to stuff the muffin in my mouth when I felt the floor shaking. An earthquake? I looked up and my jaw dropped. It was a stampede of students all running over to six familiar people from my class. The ones that were snickering and one of them was Whitey. Well, I actually couldn't say one of them because he seemed to be the leader. He was the youngest and shortest – a few inches taller than me – out of all of them and they were all following _him_. The other students were trying to talk to the Spectacular Six – my name for them – but they just seemed to brush them off. It was like what you see on TV. I didn't think girls actually tried to mob the hot guys or guys would wait hand and foot for the hot girls.

I wouldn't deny they were all good looking and seemed like cool people to be around. In some cases that could be an understatement. I turned to the blonde that Ichigo and Rukia were talking to earlier. "Izuru right?" I tried to make sure I got his name right. He nodded. "Why is everyone and their mothers trying to tackle those guys." I asked pointing to the Spectacular Six.

He followed where I pointed. "They're the most popular kids in school." he explained. "Everyone wants to get in good with them."

"Why? Whats so great about them?"

"Because," I could only imagine he paused for emphases. "They're perfect." he stated simply as if that was all there was to it.

I scoffed. "Right, they're the image of perfection."

"Think about it. They're good looking, the best in the school at every sport even though they don't play on any of the teams, and they're geniuses." I raised an eyebrow at the last one and he explained. "If you see them in class, you'll see they all sleep the entire time but they have the best grades out of anyone."

I might actually see if he's on to anything with that one. Of course it could just be that everyone else were idiots.

I looked at Izuru for him to continue. "Its kind of weird. They're like a family or something." That I could believe. They were all talking away with each other as though the world around them didn't exist and nothing could touch them.

I looked back over to them. They were all sitting at a table talking. And eating, a lot. They could give Ichigo the human garbage disposal a run for his money. I've never seen anyone eat more than Ichigo. I turned back to blondie. "Are they related?"

He shook his head. "They all came here at the same time last year and are always together but none of them are relatives. They don't come to school together so they probably don't live with each other either."

"The one with the red hair is Renji Abarai." Izuru identified. The cocky look on Renji's face reminded me of Ichigo. "The bald one is Ikkaku Madarame and the guy next to him is Yumichika Ayasegawa." So it was a guy. The feathers threw me off for a second but I can kind of see it now. "The blonde girl is Rangiku Matsumoto and the brunette is Momo Hinamori. The last guy with the white hair is Toushiro Hitsugaya, hes like the head of the group."

So I was right. Toushiro was the leader of the Spectacular Six. It was easy to tell with the way he carried himself and how he just seemed to hold that position in front of them. It was kind of weird yet cool. "Why is Toushiro the boss?"

He shrugged. "No one knows why they all follow him but if you ever hang around them, its not that weird. Its like some dominant thing. Plus, Toushiro is the most popular out of them all." I wonder why. He must of saw my curiosity because he explained. "Girls like him especially." Not hard to believe. He was pretty hot. "Out of the other five, hes the quietest and has that whole mysterious thing going on which a lot of girls are into. But no girl can get within 10 feet of him because of Momo. They don't go out, but she is really possessive of him. Anyway, over half the girls in the school would do anything to go out with him and the guys to be his friend."

Now that I thought about it, there was a lot of logic behind what he was saying. If the things he said about them were true, then it wasn't hard to believe that they were actually that popular.

I finished my lunch as me and Yuzu talked about our classes. She thought I was lucky to have the same class as Ichigo and Rukia. Poor misguided sister of mine. I stood up and grabbed my trash. Everyone else was also done with there lunches so I thought I'd be nice. I took up their trash with mine and threw it in the garbage.

I turned around only to slip on some milk that was on the floor. Just my luck. I closed my eyes as I fell forward but instead of hitting the floor like I thought I would, I stayed in the air. I felt two hands on my waist holding me up so I opened my eyes. I didn't look up to see who caught me out of embarrassment.

"You okay?" asked the silky smooth voice.

Still not looking up I answered. "Uh... yeah. Thanks."

And when I thought things couldn't get worse, I was proved horribly wrong. A guy who was walking by bumped into me, causing me to loose my balance. All I could think was 'Really?'. So I closed my eyes and went falling forward _again, _but this time I made it to the floor. Kind of. I fell on top of the guy who caught me, which actually broke my fall pretty well. I opened my eyes to see brilliantly bright teal eyes only inches away. I was face to face with none other than Toushiro Hitsugaya.

Okay, not to sound like a total fangirl but, Oh My God. Not that I'd ever admit it out loud but he looked even better up close. I couldn't quite tell the expression on his face. He looked annoyed which was to be expected since I was on him but it wasn't directed at me. It was more like he was having an argument with himself or something. Suddenly he cringed like someone just blew an air horn directly in his ear. Yeah, he was kind of weird.

I felt the creepiest feeling like something moving was under my skin until I looked up and saw why. Surrounding us were more girls than I could count, all glaring at _me_. It was times like this I was thankful that looks couldn't kill. And what were they glaring at me for? So I fell on him, big deal.

Well thats what I thought until I looked down and saw the position we were actually in. I was on his waist straddling him, my hands were resting on his chest while his were still on my hips. Not the best situation. I could feel my face heat up when I realized how this must've looked to everyone.

"What are you doing on top of Shiro!" yelled a high pitch voice that sounded like nails on a chalk board. This time I cringed and Toushiro groaned. I looked up and saw that it was Momo. She seemed different from earlier though. Before she had a soft sweet voice and looked about as kind-hearted as Yuzu, but now she looked ready to tear my head off.

The bell rang and that was my cue to leave. I quickly jumped off Toushiro and stood up abruptly. Without bothering to look back I pushed my way through the angry girls and left the cafeteria to go to gym. P.E. was outside which I was thankful for. I really needed the fresh air after how embarrassing lunch was. Although I was getting a lot of glares from girls but mostly Hinamori. Izuru wasn't kidding about her being possessive.

When school was over and I got home the first thing I did was fall out on the living room couch.

"Welcome home my children! How was your first day of school!" Why couldn't he just shut up for once? I groaned and covered my ears as Dad started asking question about the school and if we made any friends.

Rukia sat down on the couch next to me. "Hey Karin." I looked up at her. "Who was that guy from lunch?" My eyed widened. Crap, she saw that.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lied. At this point Dad, Yuzu, and Ichigo were all looking at me.

Rukia smiled at me suggestively. "You know, the guy you were on top of in the cafeteria. The one with the white hair."

Why Rukia! What had I ever done to you?! Dad and Ichigo looked at me and my now red face only confirmed what she just said.

Now Ichigo was heated. "What?! Who was this guy? I'll kill 'em!"

God and now Dad was started. "KARIN! HAVE YOU NO SHAME! I didn't move us here so you could jump boys!"

I punched Dad in the face to shut him up. "It wasn't like that!" But of course they didn't listen. They started going on about me and boys. I glared over at Rukia. She apparently didn't expect that reaction from the two because she gave me an apologetic look.

The first day here in Seireitei was worse than I what I expected but at least it was over. Compared to today, the rest of the year should be a piece of cake.

* * *

**The first chapter! Please tell me if I should continue this or not. This is the first time I've ever written in the 1st person so I would love any advice you guys have for me. I will reply to any comments, concerns, and questions you may have.**

**_Please Review so I can post up the next chapter sooner! Luv ya!_**


	2. Luck is for Lovebirds

**Wow! I'm ecstatic that you guys liked it so much! I honestly thought I wouldn't be updating this or at least this soon. I wasn't going to post this chapter til later but you guys were so great that I decided to post it now. Thanks so much for you Alerts, Favorites, and Reviews!**

***Note: When you see this ()()() it means the POV had changed from Karin's to Toushiro's. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

So its been a month since we moved to Seireitei and nothing is any better. But things haven't gotten any worse either so I'm not complaining. As far as the Spectacular Six, I haven't had any other encounters with them since the first day, though I have noticed that everything Izuru said was extremely accurate.

They were all very... charismatic. It was easy to like them because of their extroverted personalities. Well all except Toushiro who was an icebox. I was going to have to start calling Izuru a walking encyclopedia because he really knew what he was talking about. Toushiro was the most popular of them all but talked very little and never seemed to care about anything. The genius theory seemed more and more likely as I noticed that in fact they _did_sleep during the entire class time. All except – again – for Toushiro who just read the whole time. I could never tell what he was reading but they looked like old journals or something.

I looked at the clock. 20 minutes of class left, then lunch, P.E, and finally home. Now that I think about it... not one sounds better than the other. Oh great, now Mr. Ukitake is talking about some report.

"You and your partner will pick any decade in the history of Japan and write a 10 page essay on various events and pop culture of that time." There was a collective groan from the class.

Well, that didn't sound too bad. I've had worse assignments that were twice as long so this was no big deal. I just have to make sure I didn't pick an idiot to be my partner. Maybe I could pick Nel. She was one of the girls in this school who didn't bug the hell out of me, plus she had this awesome green hair. She was one of the few friends I made since we moved here. I'll have to avoid Grimmjow though, another friend I made. Fun guy to hang out with who also has cool hair, but I'd end up just doing his portion of the work.

"As for your partners, I've already picked them." Crap. "You and your partner will have to work on your report on your own time. I won't be giving you time in class so you'll have to work something out." Well this sucks. With my luck I'll end up with some retard and I'll have to go to their house. I shuddered just thinking about it. "Partners are; Ichigo and Rukia..."

He continued to say names but all I could think about was how much bullshit that was. I mean, really? Why the hell does everything go so perfect for them? Its like they're destined to be constantly together. Every waking _and_sleeping moment! Its like there is no force working against them like there is for normal couples. Don't get me wrong, I love Rukia like a sister – which I'm sure she will be soon – but why are Ichigo and Rukia so damn lucky?

Its not fair. The only lucky thing that ever happened to me was being born. Then it went down hill from there. I could say it was like that for Ichigo too, until he met Rukia. After Mom died, I never could tell if he was _truly_happy but I now know for a fact that he is and its because of Rukia. As much as it makes me sick to think about it, I'm sure they're going to be together until they die. I've never even seen them fight. Yes, they have arguments all the time but its actually their way of saying, 'I love you!'. Its kind of their thing. I'll admit its weird and occasionally annoying but I'd take that over some lovesick teenagers getting all mushy.

If they were like that, I'd probably hang myself just to get away because it would be too much to handle. They were already attached at the hip 24/7 so I get enough of seeing them without that crap. And of course fate would have it that they are partners for the assignment, only proving that 1. They are preordained to be together for the rest of eternity, and 2. They steal my portion of luck. But no use crying over bad luck... as if I could cry.

"Alright. You have 2 weeks to work on your report. For the last 10 minutes of class I want you to find your partner and pick a time period." Mr. Ukitake finished to the class.

Wait. Did he already finish partners? Oh man, I wasn't paying attention. I didn't even here hear who my partner was! I have _got_ to stop ranting to myself in the middle of class.

Everyone got up and started sitting next to their partners. I looked around to see if anyone was going to come to me. No one. Apparently my partner expects me to go to them. Must be a guy. I then noticed a lot of girls were glaring at me.

Most of them were those stuck-up 'I'm so hot', 'All the guys want me', and 'You wish you were me' kind of girls. I had no idea why they were glaring but it was starting to tick me off. What did I do anyway? All I did today was rant in my head about nothing. I looked around the room again but stopped when realization hit me. The girls were trying to kill me with their eyes because of who my partner was. And that could only mean I was partnered with _him_.

Before I even dared to look at him I had to make sure he was my partner. I glanced over at Hinamori. Found my proof. She was glaring daggers at me like there was no tomorrow. I let out a sigh, stood up slowly, and I walked over to his desk. He was looking out the window to his right, his arms crossed over each other on his desk. I stopped in front of him and he finally looked up at me, his face expressionless. Yup, thats Toushiro Hitsugaya for you.

"We're partners right?" I asked begrudgingly. He looked at me funny and nodded. I narrowed my eyes. "Then why did you just sit here instead of coming to my desk?"

"Does it really matter?" he asked smoothly. Arrogant bastard.

"Whatever." I said rolling my eyes and took a seat on top of the desk next to him.

He rested his chin on his hands. "Do you have a decade in mind?" he asked tiredly as though he had actually been working in class.

I thought about it for a second. "We should do a time no one else is using. Most of them will probably try and do more recent years like the 1980s so we should go back further."

He looked at me intensely like he was studying me. I shifted uncomfortably until he spoke. "How far back were you thinking?"

"Pretty far." I said vaguely. It was mostly to get on his nerves but he didn't seem to care so I just gave up. "Like somewhere in the 1700s."

He looked amused but I didn't see what was funny. "Fine. We could do the 1750s since its right in the middle." he offered.

"Sounds good." Then I remembered we can't work on this in class. "Should we meet at your house or mine?" I was hoping we could go to his. I needed an excuse to not be at the house and until soccer started this was the only thing I got.

He didn't even seem to think about it. "Yours."

The way Toushiro said it left no room for argument... but its me hes dealing with. I grinned at him. "Why? Your parents don't let you have girls in your room?" I teased.

"I don't have any parents." he stated stoically. Real smooth Karin. I need to work with this guy for 2 weeks and I was sitting here making an ass of myself.

I shifted uncomfortably again and avoided eye contact. "Sorry about that."

He just shrugged. "So when do you want me to come over?" Hearing a guy say that to me sounded weird for some reason.

It was Monday which meant today was definitely out. Mondays were my bad days and I don't do any kind of work after school on my bad days. "How about tomorrow after school?"

He nodded and then the bell rang for lunch. He got up and began to walk away until I realized I didn't tell him where I lived yet. "Wait, do you need my address?" I asked.

He just smirked. "Don't worry." he said. "I'll find you." And with that he left the classroom.

Lunch was pretty average other than Hinamori _still_glaring at me. Didn't her eyes get tired of all the stares she kept throwing at me? The whole time I could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of my head. I was just waiting to spontaneously combust.

P.E. was much worse. It figures we would have Dodge Ball this week. Basically all the girls teamed up against me and pummeled me with red rubber balls all hour. I was pretty fast thanks to all my soccer skills so I didn't get hit most of the time and the ones that did hit didn't hurt. The girls here were so pathetic. If Tatsuki were here, she'd show them how to throw a dodge ball and knock a few teeth out while shes at it.

The Spectacular Six – plus me, Ichigo, and Rukia – were kicking ass at Dodge Ball. I wasn't shocked because from what I heard they were the best at _everything. _Ichigo wasn't a shock either cause he was always pretty active like me. But Rukia surprised me today. I'd never had P.E. with her so I wouldn't have known but she was good. She was keeping up with Ichigo and the S.S.

Like I said, I was pretty good too. The only ones that actually hit me and hurt were from Hinamori. Her throws were fast and hard. For someone so small and cute looking she had the strength of 10 men or something. Momo Hinamori was probably the least intimidating looking person I'd ever seen. And that was _so_ wrong. I need to make sure I never get into an actual fight with her. By the end of P.E. I actually had bruises from the balls she threw! Two on my right leg, one on my left arm, and one one my side. But something was telling me she could throw a lot harder if she wanted. Yes, Mondays were my bad days.

()()()

I was sitting in class reading one of my old journals as always while the teacher talked. I never listened to what he was saying unless it was directed at me. After being in school for so long I started to just tune everything out.

I was becoming more and more irritated with these journals. Years of writing and still nothing. It was frustrating to think that after all this time, all these years and we're still no closer to breaking it than that damned day.

I looked around the room. The others were all asleep as usual. I didn't blame them. Its not like we come to school to learn what we've known for centuries anyways. School had become quite bothersome lately. Theres only one reason we come here, but now it seemed so pointless. I didn't want to give up hope for the sake of the others, after all it was my fault we were like this. As much as I wanted to just give up, that wasn't an option.

_Shiro. Are you really going to go to that girl's house today?_

I sighed. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? _Its for school. What are you so worked up about?_

She paused for a second. _I just don't like her._

_Momo, calm down. Its not like she can come to our house._

_Fine._

She always overreacts to everything. It gets annoying after 300 years, although I'll say she isn't half as bad as some of the girls today. Momo just always felt the need to protect me even though it doesn't make much sense considering its me. Sometimes I really do wonder what goes on in her head, although know that I think about it, I'm glad I don't know what shes thinking about. But I guess its also my fault shes like that.

I glanced over to Momo. She was sending dirty looks to Karin, the one whose my partner for that assignment. I almost felt sorry for the girl.

_Don't stare too long. _Renji piped up. _She might think you're a pervert._

_What! You like a girl?_Rangiku jumped in. I groaned.

_You _were_ staring at her awfully hard._Now Yumichika was in this.

_He was NOT! Shiro wouldn't look at someone like her!_Great, Momo had to add her input.

_So, you like that new girl eh? _Ikkaku just had to ask.

It was times like this I was glad we could only talk in our heads and not see each others thoughts. Who knew what those idiots were thinking with their constant jumping the gun.

_Shut up. You're giving me a headache._

And they all listened as always. Sometimes it was good to be head of the pack. Well, anytime I don't have to take responsibility for their stupidity. Thats when I have deal with Urahara's bullshit.

The rest of the school went by as boring as ever. Although P.E. was somewhat entertaining. Watching Karin try to dodge balls again today was pretty funny. Wow that did _not_sound right. I think Renji and Ikkaku were starting to rub off on me.

Again I almost felt sorry for her though. The other girls were trying pitifully to hit her but the only ones that made an impact were from Momo. I think she gave the poor girl some bruises. At least Momo was holding back. Karin was keeping her own against the whole girl population of the class so she didn't do too bad. But eventually the other new girl – Rukia I think it was – jumped in and helped her. I had to admit she was pretty skillful for a normal human. She was able to nail Renji in the face which wasn't an easy feat.

When school was done I was suppose to find Karin's house and work on that report with her. I thought it was kind of ironic that she would want to pick the 1700s. At least I didn't need to do much research, just make sure the information we got was accurate. The only reason I bother doing work is because it gives me something to do for about five minutes.

I decided to take my time and walked around town for a bit. After a while I picked up Karin's scent and figured it was time to get it over with. Hopefully we could finish within the week. I stopped in front of a house with a clinic attached to it. Her scent was strongest here. This was definitely home.

I knocked on the door then stuck my hands in my pockets as I waited for someone. The door opened but it was Rukia Kuchiki. "Can I help you?" she asked warily.

"Is Karin here?"

"Hold on." she disappeared into the house.

The next person to come to the door was Karin. "Hey, how'd know where I lived?" she asked.

I just shrugged and walked in. The first thing I saw was a huge poster of a woman with strawberry-blonde hair. The poster had 'Masaki' on it. I followed Karin through the house but she stopped in front of the base of the stairs. She was probably trying to figure out where we were gonna work. Her brother – I forgot his name – walked out of the kitchen while drinking from a milk carton. When he noticed I was here he stared at me for a second. He looked like an moron.

"Who are you?" he asked loudly.

Rukia popped up out of no where. "Hes Karin's partner." she said happily. I had a feeling she was talking about something way off the assignment.

He looked at me and then laughed. "You mean this shorty is in our class?"

That does it. As long as I've been called short, it still gets on my nerves. I was about one insult away from ripping him to shreds, helpless human or not.

"Well Ichigo, I'm short too." Rukia snapped at him sounding offended.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Why do you assume everything I say is an insult to _you_?"

"Well why do you always have to say something stupid?" she shot back. They continued bickering at each other but from Karin's reaction I think it was normal.

She decided it would be best to go in her room to work. She was sitting at her computer looking for some important events that occurred in the 1750s while I sat on the floor. I really didn't care how that made me look but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure she would do the same at someone else's house.

"How about this?" she asked, showing me an article. Surprisingly enough, I remembered that.

"Yeah that looks good." At first she was suspicious about how much I knew but I just told her I've done a report about that time before. Some events were hazier than others but the main things I remembered was the pop culture of times.

"Toushiro?" Karin said after a few minutes. I could tell she was hesitant to ask what ever it was. "When you said you didn't have any parents..."

I interrupted seeing she felt uncomfortable saying it completely. "Did I mean they were dead?" she nodded. "Yes both my parents have been dead for a while."

"So who do you live with?"

"No one." I lied. She frowned at that but just started working again. After another few minutes the phone rang. Karin looked at it then turned back to the article. "You gonna get that?"

She shook her head. "Its probably for Ichigo or Rukia."

The ringing stopped and suddenly her door swung open. A man with dark hair and a light beard came barging in while shouting and waving a cordless phone. "Karin! Phones fo-" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw me sitting on the floor. "Whats a boy doing in your room?!" he yelled while pointing at me.

Karin's eye twitched and she quickly snatched the phone from him. He kept screaming on about her running off with boys or something. "Shut up and get out of my room!" She yelled. I was a little caught off guard when she punched him in the jaw as she spoke. He fell to the ground and she kicked him out the room. "Sorry about my Dad." she said sheepishly. She looked at the phone. "I'll be in the hall." and she left the room closing the door behind her.

It was probably private but she would have to go much farther than just the hall for me not to hear. Not that I would eavesdrop but I can't help what I hear. I laid back on the floor and just looked around her room to distract myself. It wasn't your average girl's room, thats for sure. It was all dark colors and soccer stuff. But she did scream tomboy from just one look at her.

"Hey Nel. Whats up?" I heard Karin answer.

"_Hi Karin. I'm having a pool party this Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to come." _Nel offered from the other line.

"Yeah that sounds fun."

"_Great. Can you tell Ichigo and Rukia they can come too?"_That wasn't a shock that someone would want Ichigo to go. Ever since he got here hes been pretty popular among the girls. Same goes for Rukia among guys.

"Sure but they're going out this weekend to visit some old friends back in Karakura. I'll tell them anyways though." Karin replied.

"_Okay... I was also wondering if you could ask someone else too." _Nel was hesitating. _"Could you ask Toushiro and his friends to come?"_ she finish hopefully.

A pool party? Well I didn't have anything better to do this weekend. But I was also thinking about taking a visit to Rukongai. I haven't been there in a while and I wanted to stop by Granny's grave.

"What? Why don't you ask them yourself?" Karin sounded more nervous then anything else.

"_Isn't Toushiro Hitsugaya your partner? You see him more so it would be easier for you to ask." _

Karin let out a groan. "Fine but you owe me." she then hung up.

A few second later she opened the door and walked back in. She looked at me still on the floor. "You look like a lazy bum on the floor like that."

"Would you rather have me on your bed?" I questioned. Man that didn't sound right either. Whats wrong with me today?

She just shook her head. "Look, Nel is having a pool party this Saturday. You wanna come?" she said shortly.

I couldn't help but find it interesting at the way she phrased it. If I didn't know Nel asked her to ask me to go it would've sounded like she was asking me to go with her. Oh well, it'll be fun to mess with her. "Are you asking me to go with you?" I jeered.

She instantly turned red. "No! That didn't come out right! Nel wanted me to invite you for her." she tried to recover.

This was fun. I was bored sitting on her floor, what else did I have to keep me preoccupied? "Don't be ashamed. If you wanted to ask me just ask."

She scoffed, crossed her arms, and looked away still red. "Like I'd want to go with some one as stuck up as you."

I shrugged again. "If you say so."

"So are you going or what?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Just then my cell phone went off. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. "Shit." I cursed under my breath.

"What is it?" Karin asked looking concerned at me.

I got off the floor. "I've gotta go. We'll have to continue working another time." and before she could say anything else I quickly left the house. Once outside I looked around. It was already dark out, I really lost track of time. The phone beeped again. I can't believe I agreed to this stupid arrangement. Urahara definitely got the better end of the bargain.

_Is anyone close to it?_ I asked the others.

_Sorry, you're the closest._Renji snickered. _Was it interrupting your time wit-_

_Don't even think about finishing that sentence._ I threatened.

_Toushiro sure is edgy today._Rangiku cooed.

_What do expect from someone with a 10ft pole stuck up his ass?_Ikkaku laughed.

_Hes probably just upset cause he had to go to that girl's house._Momo said.

_Would you guys shut up for once._ I barked. They were such idiots, sometimes I was ready to rip out my own hair.

Yumichika just had to get the last word in. _You sure are in an ugly mood._

Shoot me now.

* * *

**And there is chapter two! Yes they can talk to each other in their head but like it said, they can't read minds or hear each other's thoughts. I got that idea from some Laurell K. Hamilton books. I know it might be a little confusing so if you have any questions please ask so I can clarify for you.**

**Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far. I might feel tempted to update again very soon! Lu ya guys!**


	3. Take That Fangirls!

**Hey guys! Thats right, another chapter! I'm a little unsure for how often I want to update since I planned to update only once a month, but you guys keep reviewing so much that I feel I need to post these chapters sooner. I'm such a sucker for you guys and your wonderful thoughts on the story. So I guess if you keep reviewing like this I might just have to update weekly. But I'm sure I can do it!**

**This chapter starts out in Toushiro's POV.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

I was laying on my back on the roof of our house. It was still dark out in the early morning setting and I could see my breath. It was very cool out but the cold never bothered me, it was actually very relaxing. The moon was still out, lighting the surroundings until the sun would come in a few minutes to do its job. The moon was nearly a perfect sphere in the sky. It'll be full Sunday night.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Ikkaku shouting about there being no food in the fridge. It was strange that he was up this early but I guess it was only the full moon coming closer. It tended to make us restless.

"Quit your yelling. Some of us are trying to sleep and _you_ of all people could use some beauty rest." Yumichika mumbled from another part of the house.

"Hey! I can hear you!" Ikkaku shouted.

"Well it was meant for you to hear!" Yumichika roared back.

"Shut up you guys! You're giving me a headache!" Rangiku only made more noise.

"Well maybe if you didn't drink sake til you passed out, you wouldn't have a hangover now." Ikkaku chided.

I could imagine her rolling her eyes right about now. Things got quiet again. Even on the roof I couldn't escape their bickering. Just another part of our punishment. Forced to live for eternity with each other. At one point I'm not too proud of, I tried to leave them behind. Of course it didn't work but I sure felt like shit for it, and they even forgave me. I did this to us and I was trying to abandon them. After that I swore to free us of this curse no matter how long it took.

Before I knew it, the sun was up and the others were awake. I jumped off the roof landing firmly on my feet. I walked into the house avoiding the others since I knew what they were going to try and say. I had made the mistake of telling them about the party and not only are they going but they are making me go as well. I looked in the fridge which was completely empty like Ikkaku said.

"Whose turn is it to get groceries?" I called out. 6 bottomless pits and an empty refrigerator do not mix.

Rangiku came into the kitchen. "Oh yeah," she said sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I was gonna do that today."

I rolled my eyes and went into my room. I might as well get some time alone before they drag me to that party later today. I thought about everything that would be troublesome later. Luckily I was finished with that assignment with Karin already with a week to spare. I would probably have to get groceries since I knew Rangiku would forget about it. Why did I even bother trying to get them to do anything?

I sighed and closed my eyes in another desperate hope that I could just sleep and not wake up. The one thing everyone feared yet I craved. The only thing that made life what it was. Death.

"Shiro! Wake up!" I heard Momo yell into my ear. I cracked my eyes open and looked to my right where she stood.

I sat up and looked at the time. I fell asleep for 6 hours? I just shook my head and got out my bed. That was another thing. We were always tired before a full moon, like we were saving up our energy for it. Restless when we should be sleeping and tired in the middle of the day.

"What do you want?" I asked Momo who was still glowering down at me.

She rolled her eyes. "We're leaving to Nel's pool party." and then she left the room.

I considered locking my door and just go back to sleep but thought against it. Knowing her she would probably just break the door down. I followed her out the room where all the others were standing. I guess they were all waiting for me. You'd think they couldn't do a thing without me.

When we showed up at the party Nel was pretty excited we came. There were a lot of kids from school there as well. Both her house and her pool were decently sized. As we walked over to the pool a few guys started whistling at Rangiku in her swimsuit. Only we would find the irony in giving her _wolf_-whistles.

The first thing they did was jump in the pool. It was hot out but as much as I hated the heat I didn't plan on getting in the pool yet, if ever. Kids swimming back and forth and dunking each other underwater did not appeal to me. I briefly wondered if Karin was coming but I quickly dispelled that thought. What did I care if she came?

I was currently sitting on a lawn chair, still fully dressed, not even near the pool. This was as close as I was getting to be in the water.

_You're not getting in the water?_ Renji asked after a few minutes. He was water wrestling with Ikkaku.

_No._

_Why not? _Momo complained. She was swimming on back while glancing over to me.

_Because hes waiting for that girl, aren't you?_ Rangiku snickered from some unknown place.

_No way. Why would he want to see her._ Momo snapped.

I just tuned them out. Why couldn't they just give it a rest? She was my partner for a stupid school assignment and they have to assume I liked her. I stood up and was about to go find some food until a scent distracted me. It was Karin's.

I looked to my right and there she was, just arriving to the party. She was wearing a red two-piece bikini, the bottoms were small shorts. It looked really good on her and I didn't expect her to wear a suit like that. It showed off her surprisingly curvy figure. She always wore t-shirts and shorts that didn't reveal anything about her shape, but this... I looked away when I realized I was staring. Now I feel like a dirty old man.

"So I see you made it." Karin said as she walked up to me. I looked into her deep blue eyes, focused on not looking anywhere else.

"You seem happy to see me." I baited. I don't know why but I always felt the need to mess with her a little. It helped distract me from other things I guess.

She quickly looked away. "You wish." She then examined my clothes. "You're not going swimming?"

"What makes you say that?" Sure that was a stupid question on my part but this conversation was better than watching people swim circles in pissy water.

"You're not in a swimsuit for one. What you can't swim?" she mocked.

I smirked and crossed my arms. "I just don't want you drooling over me if I take off my shirt." She thought of me as some cocky asshole and I couldn't help but play the part for her. Her reactions were just too funny.

Karin scowled at me and left muttering "Yeah right." as she passed. I turned back to looking for some food. I finally found food but all it had was finger carrots and celery. Was this some kind of vegetarian party? I can't even think about eating little vegetables when I was really craving some kind of meat. Oh well. I just went back to the chair and mindlessly looked around.

A few hours past and it had gotten even hotter out. And here I am still sitting in this damn chair sweating my ass off. Even after hours of swimming the party was still going on as lively as when we arrived if not more.

_Are you guys ready to go yet?_ I asked irritably.

_Whats wrong with you?_ Ikkaku asked.

_Hes just in a bad mood cause hes hot._ Rangiku laughed. _Toushiro doesn't like the heat, remember?_

"Shiro, you should come in if you're hot." Momo said. She had gotten out and sat next to me in an attempt to get me in the pool. It wasn't working. Theres no way I'm was getting in that pool.

"I fine." I lied. I was just hoping they would want to leave soon.

The sound of something crack caught my attention. It wasn't loud but I heard it and I just got the feeling something wasn't right. After being cursed for so long I've had to stay alert because things always seemed to turn bad. I knew the others heard it too as we all looked to where the sound came from. It was a large branch, the size of a tree hanging about 25 to 30ft above the deep end of the pool. It was about to fall.

I glance at the pool. No one was in that part of the water so I really don't care. I looked at the pack who were getting out the pool. I glared at them and stood up with Momo following behind me. "You guys ready to go-"

My question was cut off by the sound of the branch falling into the pool. The kids jumped out of the water and it looked like everyone was alright. But something still didn't feel right... and then my blood ran cold. I didn't see her.

"Karin is under there!" I heard someone yell as they pointed to the deep end of the pool.

I didn't even give it a second thought. I threw off my shirt and shoes and jumped into the pool. At first I couldn't see with all the bubbles blocking my view. I quickly swam to the bottom and saw Karin unconscious. She was stuck under the large branch. I grabbed around her waist and pulled her from under the wood and started swimming up. Once I reached the surface I swam to the edge of the pool and got Karin out.

The other kids at the party all ran over and circled Karin who was still unconscious on the ground. I got out the pool and knelt over her. She wasn't breathing. Ignoring the shouts and crowding of the other kids, I plugged her nose and brought my lips to hers.

()()()

"_Granny. Do you know about the old tomb in the forest?" I asked curiously._

_She looked at me for a second then set down the cloth she was sewing. "Why do you ask?"_

_I hesitated for a moment. She seemed unnerved by my question and I didn't want to upset her. "Some of the other kids are saying a demon lives in it."_

_She looked at me seriously. "You do not go near that forest under any circumstance. Is that clear?" she asked, not harshly but stern all the same. I nodded my head quickly even though I already felt guilty. I already planned to go visit the tomb in a few days with the others._

"_Yes Granny. I will not go." I vainly promised._

_She smiled at me and placed her wrinkled hand on my head. "Such a good child." she then pulled something out of her sleeve. "I have something for you."_

_She pulled out an old rusted chain and handed it to me. It was nothing special but then I saw what was hanging on it. On the chain was a four pointed star like non I'd ever seen. It was so shiny and light that I had no idea what it was. She smiled at my reaction to it and spoke again._

"_You must take great care of it." I nodded while still eying it. I couldn't tell what it was and Granny must've seen my expression as she aided me. "Its pure silver." My eyes widened upon hearing that. How could we afford silver? I was the only one who worked yet I had never made enough to buy something like this. The village was very poor and no one ever got paid a lot for their work. "It was your father's. I knew he would have wanted you to have it." she explained._

_I wrapped my fingers around the necklace and smiled sadly. "Thank you."_

"Is she okay?" I heard someone say.

"Back up and give her some room to breathe." That was Nel. Which means I was still at the party. So I wasn't dead! I'm so gonna kick Grimmjow's ass for throwing my in the pool. Although it wasn't his fault atree_ fell _onme_._

I still couldn't breathe though. I knew I wasn't in the water yet I still felt like I was drowning. Then I felt a pair of soft lips on mine. They felt warm and I couldn't deny I liked the feel of them against mine. But seriously, who was kissing me while I was dying? They blew air into my mouth. Then I understood what was going on. I was getting mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Suddenly I was able to take a breath and I started coughing up chlorine water. I opened my eyes but not by much. I was able to make out some colors above me though. Teal and White. My eyes shot open. Holy Shit.

Without thinking I bolted my head up which collided with his. Everyone else, who was for some reason crowding me, jumped back like I just came from the dead. No I didn't die. I grabbed my head and laid down on my back again. He had a hard ass head because that hurt. Then everyone started asking if I was okay. God I wasn't okay with all the yelling! It was making me dizzy.

I heard Nel starting to take charge. "Okay everyone back up. She doesn't need you all rushing her." She turned to Toushiro who was still looking at me intensely. "Can you take Karin inside?"

He nodded and without saying anything else he picked me up bridal style and started to walk over to the house. I could've walked on my own but it seemed he wasn't going to let me even try. Oh well, who was I to turn down a generous offer that just so happened to piss off every girl – and even a few guys – there? I could feel the glares all over again. I almost died, do they really need to be jealous because him saved my life?! I dared to glance at Hinamori and boy was she heated. When we went by her I could've sworn I heard her growl. Crazy bitch.

When we got inside he set me down on a couch. I sat up and looked around. Nel had a nice house. I then looked to Toushiro who had walked out of my view from the living room. He came back with a towel and handed it to me.

I took it and smiled at him. "Thanks." I motioned for him to sit next to me on the couch and sat to my left. "So I'm going to assume you were the one who got me out the pool?" He nodded. He looked like he was thinking really hard. "You okay?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "_You're_ asking me if _I'm_ okay?"

I laughed. "Well whatever. That was really heroic of you. Especially that 'Kiss of Life'." I baited. Thats right I can tease him too. But when I looked at his reaction I thought I was dreaming cause his cheeks turned pink. No way! I made _the_ Toushiro Hitsugaya blush! I deserve a medal of that. Take that you psycho fangirls!

He looked away seemingly embarrassed. I then realized that he was shirtless. This time I'm sure I blushed. He had muscles. He was still pretty lean but they were there. I don't know why I'd think he wouldn't but he did. Six pack and all. I then noticed something on his right upper arm, just under his shoulder. He had four long scars that ran across his bicep. From the way they healed I could tell they were pretty deep when he got them.

"What happened?" I asked not looking away from his scars.

"What?" he asked. He then saw what I was looking at. "Just an accident from a few years ago." he stated. I didn't believe that. They looked like claw marks, but what animal could've done that?

I brought my hand up to his arm without realizing it. Something about them was familiar. When I touched the scars I felt a weird jolt rush through my body. Toushiro stiffened and took in a sharp breath the second my fingers touched them. His eyes were wide and seemed to haze over, like he was seeing something that I couldn't. He looked like he was afraid. "Toushiro? Are you alright?" I asked.

He blinked and seemed to snap out of what that was. "Y-yes. Just... I'm fine." he struggled out. He stood up from the couch and quickly left outside without another word.

What was that? Did I make him uncomfortable by touching his scars? I didn't know what to think. He looked utterly confused, like he didn't know what happened either. Once I walked back outside he and the rest of the Spectacular Six were gone. I didn't have a chance to follow them because Grimmjow practically tackled me as he kept saying how sorry he was for throwing me in the pool. I didn't hold it against him and forgave him quickly. Besides, it was weird to see Grimmjow sorry for anything.

On my way home all I could think about was how weird Toushiro acted right before he left. Today was definitely a hectic and confusing day. The fact that I got the 'Kiss of Life' from Toushiro didn't really hit me until I got home. It was a late reaction because all of the sudden I just couldn't wrap my head around it. And what was worse was that those insane groupies would find some other way to torture me.

And what about Toushiro? I hope he was alright. I had a feeling Momo was gonna have my ass for doing whatever I did to him. Thank God it was Saturday which meant I could try and talk to him before school. I don't think I want to talk with him around people with homicidal tendencies towards me when we interacted.

Once I got home I made sure not to bring up the almost drowning thing. I was completely fine and I didn't want to get Dad started. I was actually really glad Ichigo and Rukia were out of town and couldn't go to the party.

Then another thought came to mind. What was that dream I had? It was like the one I had when I first got here. And the necklace was the same. This place was so strange. Odd things have been happening since I got here and none of them have been good. Ever since we came to Seireitei I've been having the worst luck yet. Before it was little things like losing my key or falling asleep during a test, but know it was stuff that could kill me. Well today was the first that could kill me but I had a feeling that more was to come.

Dinner was surprisingly quiet without Ichigo or Rukia. They were so lucky they got to leave this weekend. I would've passed up the pool party to go back to Karakura to visit some friends but they were persistent in not letting me or Yuzu go with them. They said it like I wanted to go with _them_ when I just wanted to see my old friends and get away from Goat Chin.

Monday was a pain in the ass. All day I was getting looks from girls all over the school. I'm surprised half of them knew who I was. Needless to say the whole mouth to mouth resuscitation thing was blown _way_ out of proportion, and thats understating it. From some of the rumors I heard, the one that stood out the most was that I tore Toushiro's shirt off, pulled him into the water with me, and then proceeded to 'pounce' him.

What. The. Hell.

Unfortunately I haven't talked to him since the party either. I couldn't get a hold of him on Sunday and I wasn't talking to him in front people with these rumors going around. But it didn't really matter cause I was still getting death threats from half the girls at school.

One thing I was thankful for was that we didn't have Dodge Ball in P.E. anymore. That didn't stop the glares I got from Hinamori and the rest of the fangirl population but at least I wouldn't get bruised. During the entire time of school I couldn't stop myself from glancing over to Toushiro. He seemed back to normal though. Never paying attention to anything around him. He always looked like he was in another place so I found it hard to know what he was thinking about or if he was trying to avoid me.

On my way home things turned from annoying to infuriating. And of course I'd hear this terrible news from Ichigo. "Karin, whats this I hear about you and some guy?" he sounded angry.

I looked to Rukia and Yuzu for help but they seemed very curious about the subject as well. "I don't know. What have you heard?" I tried reverse psychology on him.

"That you were making out with some boy in a hot tub at Nel's pool party." And then I remembered that reverse psychology doesn't work in these types of situations. I hadn't heard that one yet. And did I hear _hot_ _tub_? Where did that come from? Nel didn't even have a hot tub!

We were still walking and we were about half way home, I was in front with Ichigo behind me and Rukia and Yuzu taking up the rear. "Don't even think about taking off." he said in a low voice. Damn.

Thats one thing I always hated. Me and Ichigo were a lot alike – or so they tell me – and would always think of the same things. I let out a sigh. "Thats just some stupid rumor. It didn't even happe-"

"Whats his name?" he cut me off. He must've been really pissed. But I wouldn't let that keep me from giving him a hard time.

"That was rude Ichigo. You should at least let me say what happened." I scolded. I turned around and started walking backwards. I loved to see his expression when I made him angry.

"Karin. Who was it." That wasn't even a question this time.

"Fine but remember; it didn't happen like that." I had to stress. "Toushiro Hitsugaya."

Both Ichigo and Rukia's expressions changed. From being upset and amused they turned to concern. They glanced back at each other like they were confirming something and I furrowed my eyebrows at them. Whats up with them?

Ichigo finally said something. "I don't want you being around him." I just rolled my eyes and and turned around. Like I was gonna listen to him.

To my surprise Rukia backed Ichigo up. "Please Karin. I don't think you should be hanging around him either."

Ok now I'm confused. They didn't want me hanging around him because they thought I kissed him? That didn't sound like them... well it didn't sound like Rukia. Ichigo was always overprotective when it came to me and Yuzu. But before Rukia was giddy when she thought about me with a guy. It can't be because of who he is, could it? Before Rukia didn't seem to care when she saw me with him earlier. This was literally an overnight change of heart.

"You guys are making a big deal out of nothing." I said not bothering to face them anymore.

I could feel Ichigo scowling at me. "I'm serious Karin. Don't go near him."

I scoffed. Who was Ichigo to order me what to do? "You're not the boss of me. I don't have to listen to what you say." I pouted, sounding like a three year old. A childish but I didn't care, he was getting me mad.

"Its whats best for you." he tried to reason.

I turned around and faced him again. "Best for me? I'm old enough to make my own decisions and I don't need you trying to look out for me." I snapped. I could see he was trying to protect me, from what, I had no idea. But it just got me angry to see that he didn't think I could take care of myself.

"Whats so bad about me hanging around Toushiro? You guys don't like him or something?" I inquired. They didn't answer so I just walked ahead.

Trying to tell me what to do? Not happening. I was going to do whatever I wanted and they couldn't do anything about it. And its not like they were telling me anything as to why I shouldn't be around him.

When I got home before the others I headed into the kitchen to grab a snack. I grabbed an apple and started to head upstairs to my room. I was stopped when Ichigo grabbed my arm. "Look I just need you to listen for once." he said sternly.

I jerked my arm from him as I spoke. "I'll talk, hang out, or kiss whoever I want so don't try and tell me what I can and can't do." And with that I went to my room and slammed my door.

Stupid Ichigo. He could try all he wanted to reason but I wasn't about to do a thing he said. I sprawled out on my bed and looked up at the ceiling. That little argument actually tired me out, if you could call it an argument. It was more so me doing the arguing. Now that I think about it, Ichigo has never raised his voice at me or Yuzu once. I'll give him that, cause theres no way I couldn't with the things I tend to say.

But then I thought about what it was all about. It was obviously something to do with Toushiro... I just didn't know what. We've had the same class with him for over a month but they never seemed to resent him, even when he came over last week. All I could think of was earlier today in class, Ichigo and Rukia seemed to be wary around him. And at lunch they kept an eye on him.

Something must've happened between them and Toushiro that I didn't know about. I heard they're door close from down the hallway. Perfect time to go ninja and do some eavesdropping. I walked out my room and tiptoed down the hall. Once I got outside their door I stopped and put my ear against it. It was muffled but I did pick up some of the conversation.

"...that bastard.... I know its him!" Ichigo shouted.

I heard Rukia sigh. "Are you sure? We can't..." Damn I couldn't hear that well. They kept drifting in and out.

Ichigo gawked. "Of course I... You didn't see him last night... I did. He _is_ one. All of them are."

They were silent for a moment before Rukia spoke again. "We... make sure before we do..."

I heard they're footsteps coming to the door and I quickly ran back to my room. As soon as I closed the door I thought about everything they said. Apparently they hate a guy because of something that happened last night, but Rukia isn't sure if its him. And I guess this guy has friends too. What if 'him'was Toushiro? It would make sense as to why they don't want me around him. 'Him' must've been Toushiro and 'all of them' must be the rest of the Spectacular Six. Something happened between Ichigo and Rukia and them last night and I was going to find out what.

* * *

**So there you have it, Chapter 3. I hope you guys liked it. Please review and tell me what you think! Luv ya!**


	4. A Fair Kiss

**Hey my wonderful people! I'm here with another chapter! This one is a little longer too. I wanted to post this a little sooner but I've been so busy. A lot of you guys don't like the idea of me updating once a month so I'll do my best to keep you from waiting too long. Well enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

I am an idiot. What the hell was I thinking? Why would I do something like that? I'm not some friendly neighborhood hero who goes around saving people. I kill those corpse creature, zombie things at night only because of my arrangement with Urahara, not because I want to keep people safe. And yet hear I am in school, still hearing rumors about that party on Saturday when I saved Karin's life. But more specifically when I gave her mouth to mouth. What was more concerning is that for some reason I keep thinking about it.

I sighed and looked away from the window to the clock inside the classroom. Five minutes to lunch. I should just leave now, but then that would just be more troublesome later when someone called home.

Things are not going so smoothly. I feel like I don't know whats going on anymore. Saturday I don't know what came over me or why a felt the need to save Karin. I've watched countless people die without doing anything to prevent it, yet when she was drowning I acted without even thinking. But why? And more importantly what happened when she touched my scar? No matter whose touched it that never happened. When she touched my scar it was like a vision. I relived what happened that day when me and the others were cursed. I saw it in only a matter of seconds but I felt as though it happened all over again right there.

I hadn't talked to Karin in almost a whole week since the party was Saturday and today was Friday. I wasn't avoiding her, in fact I think she was doing the avoiding. I didn't blame her though. A lot of the girls would probably all jump her if they saw us talking after all these rumors that have been going around. Although I couldn't help but find it humorous to hear that all of them made Karin seem like the one to sexually harass me against my will. On the bad side I didn't hear the end of it from Momo. She, along with my better judgment thought it would have been better to just have ignored Karin and let her drown. But maybe this was a good thing. Maybe this was a step closer to acceptance?

I took a quick glance around the room and noticed Ichigo Kurosaki had his eyes angrily trained on me. That was another thing that irritated me. Why he was glaring at me?! It could be because he might have heard some crazy rumor about me and Karin – he did seem like the overprotective brother type. I really didn't care but it bugged the hell out of me.

The bell rang and I got up to go to the cafeteria. Things are always so repetitive that I almost felt willing to let a little chaos ensue. It would definitely liven things up. Once I reached the hallway I noticed Karin was leaning against the lockers looking at me. Momo and the others looked from her to me.

_Go._ I told them before they could say any snide remarks.

I walked past her in the opposite direction of the cafeteria away from everyone else. She followed behind me and I stopped when we were alone. We looked at each other for a second before she broke the silence.

"What happened Saturday?" Wow, she was right to the point. What do I say to that? Even I don't really know what happened and its not like I can say 'It was just a vision of when I became a werewolf, no big deal'.

"You almost drowned." I supplied, still trying to thinking of something.

She narrowed her eyes at me and placed her hands on her hips. "I know that stupid. I was talking about when you spaced out."

"Don't know what you're talking about." he said indifferently.

I could feel her dark blue eyes flare at me with frustration but I just ignored them. I've lived too long to be intimidated just by some dirty looks. Then she said something that caught me completely off guard. "What happened Sunday night between you and my brother?"

I was speechless for a second. "What do you mean?" I tried to sound uncaring again but knew my voice was betraying me at the moment. I wasn't sure exactly what she was talking about but... it couldn't be what I think it is.

"He doesn't want me around you and its apparently because of something that happened Sunday night." she said cautiously, looking for my reaction. Was she really talking about the full moon? And what did her brother have to do with anything?

I looked back at Karin who was still looking for my reply. I sighed and looked at her sternly. "I don't know whats with your brother or why he would be angry at me. I barely know him."

"You're lying." she shot back calmly. She knew I wouldn't tell her anything whether I knew what she was saying or not.

I just shrugged and started to walk away but she grabbed my wrist, stopping me. I felt a jolt similar to when she touched my scar only this time there was no vision. Why did that happen every time she touched me? It didn't hurt but it was unsettling. Unsettling because I liked it.

She looked to the ground, up to me, and then the ground again. Whatever she wanted to say she was having a hard time getting it out. "Are we... we're friends, right?" she finally said almost inaudibly.

Friends? What made her ask that? And... were we friends? I guess thats what we were but, calling Karin a friend didn't seem fitting. Its not that she wasn't worth being called a friend though. So were we friends? Why am I thinking so much into a simple question?

I studied her as she let go of my wrist and looked away. One thing a noticed about Karin was how inconsistent she was. One second she was loud, confident, bossy and sarcastic, and the next she almost seemed unsure. Of course the latter was so rare that it wasn't even in her character. It was actually kind of cute. Although I preferred it when she was herself. I liked the confident Karin.

I walked closer to her and she took a step back. I didn't know what I was doing myself but I felt a pull. Some strange force. I took another step closer. Her scent was so strong this close up. Funny enough, she actually smelled of quince. She stopped backing away and stood still. I was so close I could feel her breath on my skin and hear her heart pounding in her chest. I stopped with my mouth next to her ear as I whispered softly into it. "Of course we're not."

And then I turned around without looking at her expression and walked to the cafeteria. It was times like this when I knew I was just digging my own grave.

The rest of school was uneventful.

I got back to the house after school, I was the last one home. We all left at different times and took different routes home to avoid unnecessary questions about us living together.

When I got in the living room I saw Renji and Ikkaku playing some fighting video game. I didn't know what was so fun about those things. Rangiku was lounging on the couch while reading a magazine as was Yumichika on the other couch. I didn't see Momo at the moment and I decided to look through some old journals again. I still wanted to know about what happened Saturday and the only thing I could think of was to look through them.

Then something else crossed my mind. Ichigo Kurosaki. What was with him? Karin said something happened between me and him on Sunday night but it couldn't be... Right now, before I do anything else I should go and talk to Urahara.

I was about to leave the house again when Momo came into the room. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to talk with Urahara." I cringed just thinking about it. I was never anxious to talk to that man.

"Can I come with?" she asked. "Its really boring around here."

"Sure." I said as I walked out the door. We walked through the streets of Seireitei to the dreaded candy store. Momo was a few feet ahead of me as we walked along a crowded street. It usually got like this at this time of the day. When we reached the shop there was a sign hanging on the door.

"_Sorry We're Closed. Gone on vacation, be back in a week! Or two."_

I felt my eye twitch. How the hell could that bastard just take off on vacation without telling us?! We're stuck here doing _his_ job while he leaves as he pleases. Next time I see that damn shop keeper I'm going to wring his scrawny little neck!

"Did you know he went on vacation?" Momo asked me after my long silence.

"No."

"... Are you angry?"

"No."

"You sound angry."

"I'm not."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now lets go." I finished. I really needed to cool down. Urahara sure picked a hell of good time to leave.

We walked back in the same pleasant silence we were pron to. Momo and I never really needed to talk. We were always just comfortable in our company with each other. Years and years of knowing each other made conversation not necessary among any of us. I guess thats way they liked school though. They meet new people and its almost like they are getting some kind of relief from each other. I too felt that sometimes. Its very sad to think about it though. Its come to the point where we have lived for so long that we tire of each other yet would be completely lost if there was such a distance between us.

As dismal has my view on life is things have seemed to have changed. For around a month now I've had this uneasy feeling. Like something in the atmosphere has shifted drastically. I can't seem to concentrate on anything anymore and I can't help but feel like I have to embrace it. This mysterious change of pace is such a difference from anything else in my far too long life that I think I want it to last.

But what did that mean? There was one thing lingering in my mind. Could it have something to do with Karin? Now that I think about it this feeling started when she arrived. For some reason I can't get my mind off of Karin for too long and I don't know why. Earlier today I don't really know what came over me. And is it just me or do I smell her right now? God was I that obsessed? Or was she actually nearby?

I looked to my right where a soccer field resided. And there she was. Karin Kurosaki.

She was wearing black shorts, a black and white t-shirt, and a red cap. She was standing with three other boys, talking to them. Even from the far distance I could hear what she was saying. "C'mon you guys! You said that those seniors won't let you use the soccer field so we'll just have to take it from them." she announced to the boys. They all gave back their sheepish replies to which she sighed tiredly to.

"I don't know." One of the boys said. "The only way they'll let us play here is if we beat them."

Karin put her hands on her hips. "And that what we're gonna do." she said as though it were so obvious. "Thats why I'm here. I want to use this field too and you guys are gonna be my team so we _can_ beat them."

"Shiro?" Momo asked. I just realized I had completely stopped walking and was watching Karin. I don't know what it is but I'm positive this change is due to her.

Karin must've felt my eyes on her because she looked up right at me. She froze for a moment before giving me a small nervous smile and turning back to practicing.

Momo raised an eyebrow. "Whats with her?" she asked with slight disdain. What was that? I have no idea why but Momo really seems to dislike Karin... though I think the feeling is mutual. I wonder whats with them. "Hello?" she asked, catching my attention.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

She sighed. "I said whats with her?" she repeated while jerking her thumb towards Karin.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I lied. Of course I know I probably scared her from earlier. Hell, I even freaked myself out with the way I acted. Its just come to the point where I've let my hormones – which are how old? – act on there own. In other words. I'm acting like an idiot teenager rather than the over 300 year old stuck as a perpetual teen.

Momo looked like she was about to say something else but she was interrupted.

_Toushiro. Momo. Do either you guys know where the remote is?_Renji asked all of the sudden from the house.

_Why would we know?_ I retorted.

_Just checking. _He defended. _I need to change the channel and I can't find the remote._

I smacked my head while Momo replied. _Just go up to the TV and change the channel._

_Are you crazy? _Renji scoffed. _We're not cavemen here._

I beg to differ. Yesterday they were actually drawing on the walls. _You know thats the fourth remote this month. Lose anymore and no more TV. _I still can't believe this is how I have to handle things. Scolding them like their goddamn mother.

_Alright._Renji said after a while. _Oh yeah, what did Urahara say?_

Great now I was pissed all over again.

()()()

I hate fairs. They were crappy, crowded, overpriced, and basically a waste of time. So why was I here at Seireitei's annual fair? And on a Saturday? Simple. My sweet, loving, fraternal twin sister Yuzu. She – unlike me – loves the fair and just _had_to come. Not only that but she also got Ichigo and Rukia to come. I didn't mind Rukia but ever since Monday Ichigo had been on my bad side. Hes been going out of his way to make sure I don't so much as look at Toushiro. Its seriously annoying!

That and I still don't know why Ichigo and Rukia don't like him. I asked them and they wouldn't say a word. I asked Toushiro and he said he had no idea what I was talking about. And then he said we weren't friends. I didn't really understand that. I only asked because I was trying to prove to myself that Ichigo had nothing to worry about. I guess mission accomplished. But the way Toushiro said it made it seem like there was more to what he was saying... but I could just be imagining. But he definitely caught me off guard. Knowing that pompous jerk he probably just did that to mess with me. I think he purposely does thinks to undermine me. Arg! I need to stop thinking about him!

That was pretty hard considering how tired I was. When I was tired it was harder for me to keep certain things from coming to mind. I reached in my pocket and pulled out two pills. They were energy pills that I took from the clinic. I brought them just in case I didn't think I could stay awake but I didn't think I would actually need them. I had already dosed off leaning against a cotton candy stand so I bottoms up. I popped them in my mouth and snatched Ichigo's soda to get them down. I ignored his glares and gave back his drink.

Those things better work cause I don't think I can make it through the day. Although it would really suck if they did the opposite. On the bottle there was a warning that listed a bunch of side effects. One being drowsiness. What kind of energy pill makes you even more tired? And then there was dizziness, jitters, irritably, and depression. Gee I wonder which one will happen.

I sighed and looked around this sad excuse of a fair. I never liked fairs even when I was little . The rides were never big enough and I never won those stuffed animals. Never.

That will be my goal today. To get a stuffed animal no matter what. Next to me I heard Rukia 'asking' Ichigo to win her a prize. Me and Yuzu sat back and watched as Ichigo went up to the booth with the be-be guns. It was one of those booths were you have to shoot a piece of paper with a star on it. If the star is completely gone when you're done shooting you get a prize. I don't know why he would choose this one though. I've never seen anyone win at those.

"Which gun would you like?" asked the booth guy. He was holding up two guns. One that looked like a small rifle and the other looked like a handgun. Ichigo picked the latter.

Me and Yuzu looked a little skeptical at whether he would win or not but Rukia seemed satisfied as though he had already won her the prize. Ichigo aimed the gun and started shooting at the paper. My eyes widened. A few seconds later he stopped and the star was gone. Not even that but in the paper was what looked like a cut out of the star! How the did he do that?! The booth guy looked about as shocked as Yuzu and I.

Ichigo just flashed a cocky grin at Rukia and gave her the giant Chappy Rabbit that was about as big as her. If I wasn't still pissed at him I would ask him to win me something. But I'm far too stubborn for that.

We started walking around and I noticed there were a lot of kids from school here. Why were they here? This fair sucked and yet it was full of people who probably didn't have a life. We stopped at another booth because Rukia wanted to play some of the games. "I'm gonna find a bathroom." I told them.

I walked around pushing my way through people eating cotton candy and carrying stuffed animals or their screaming kids. Near the back of this godforsaken fair were porter potties. I groaned. Did I really want to go in there? It was dark, small, and smelled. I hated these things. I slowly walked up to the door and opened it cautiously as if the crap monster was going to jump out and drag me down the shit hole.

I held my breath and went in.

**1 minute later...**

"Oh my god! I'm alive!" I yelled as I ran out the stall. That was so disgusting! I seriously think I might be traumatized. I placed my hands on my knees and bent over, breathing hard. I need fresh air!

After a few seconds I stood up again and looked around. Now I just needed to find the others. I looked threw the crowds of people, mostly trying to see if I could find any orange. I mean it was the easiest thing to spot out of them. I once again started pushing my way through the people. After a while I heard someone scream. I heard some people yelling, telling everyone to get out the way. Out the way of what?

I turned around and saw what everyone was yelling about. One of the horses from the pony rides had gotten loose. It was running around the place wildly as people jumped out the way. But it wasn't running in my direction so I just turned around and started looking for Yuzu, Rukia, and the idiot. Then people next to me started screaming. What the hell people? It wasn't over here.

Suddenly someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to the right. I was so surprised I fell into the person. In the corner of my eye I saw that stupid horse run through right where I was standing. If that person hadn't grabbed me, my ass would've been grass. And what retard let that horse get away? Thats way people shouldn't try to play with animals bigger than themselves.

Good thing this guy grabbed me though. Mm he smelled really good too. It was like watermelon and daffodils.

Oh wait. I'm leaning into this guy like some weirdo. But now that I think about it... this seems oddly familiar. "You okay?" came a voice I knew all too well.

I looked up and my jaw dropped. "Toushiro?" I jumped back like he was the plague and pointed at him. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

He cocked his head to the side and nonchalantly took a bite of the slice of watermelon in his hand. I guess that explains the watermelon scent. But seriously, how does he smell like daffodils? Does he just sleep in fields of them or something?

He just shrugs at me. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Do I need a reason to be at the fair?" he drawled. Good point.

"Thanks." I mumbled. That was the second time he saved my ass. He just smirked at me and tossed rest of the fruit in a nearby trashcan. I stared at him for a few more seconds and then spoke again. "So why are you here? I wouldn't expect you to be here alone."

He scratched the back of his his head and sighed irritably. "I'm here with Momo-"

"I see." I said tightly, not letting him finish. "Are you guys here on a date?" Wow did I have to sound so disappointed? Why do I care if hes on a date with that psycho? But really, why does he want to go on a date with her? Shes crazy and possessive. And I'm not just saying this because I'm jealous...

And I'm not jealous!

He looked at me like I was crazy. Probably from the faces I was making while thinking to myself. "No we're not on a date. She and Rangiku just wanted to go to the fair and they ended dragging me here." he said in a bored tone.

"Oh." I said slightly relieved. Dammit! Stop this Karin! You're acting like those obsessed fangirls from school! "So where are they?"

"I don't know. I kinda snuck away from them after awhile." he explained. He then looked at me curiously. "What about you?"

I laughed. "Pretty much the same reason as you. My sister wanted me to come along with her, Ichigo, and Rukia." I said while looking around. I still needed to find them.

"Sister?" he asked. I was about to explain but I heard my name being called.

"Karin." Yuzu repeated, walking up to me. She stopped and gazed at Toushiro and then back to me while giving me a look.

I knew what that look was and I just rolled my eyes at her. "This is my twin sister, Yuzu." he raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between us. "Fraternal twin." I added. "Yuzu, this is Toushiro. Hes in my class."

Yuzu smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed happily. She was doing what Rukia did before she started teaming up with Ichigo. It was kind of creepy but surprisingly didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

"Same here." he said distractedly. I think he was still comparing us. I had black hair and dark blue eyes and Yuzu had light brown hair with brown eyes. I was just wearing some dark blue shorts and a red and white striped baseball shirt while Yuzu was wearing a light green dress with some flowers on it. She was smiling, I was scowling. "You sure you two are twins?" he finally asked.

"_Fraternal_." I emphasized to him. "It means we're not freaky clones of each other."

Before our conversation could go any further Ichigo and Rukia showed up. Ichigo looking – big surprise – pissed and Rukia looking frustrated. An idea came to mind.

I turned to Toushiro and quickly asked before Ichigo and Rukia were close enough to here. "You want to hang with us until Hinamori and Rangiku find you?" I didn't feel comfortable calling Hinamori by her first name. I don't know why.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Can't I be nice and offer to invite you to join us?" I asked sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Fine. Sure."

Great! Now I might be able to find out why Ichigo and Rukia don't like Toushiro. They won't tell me why I can't be around him and Toushiro says he doesn't know what I'm talking about. We'll see about that. I am such a genius sometimes.

Ichigo walked straight up to me. "What the hell are you doing with him?" he said pointing to Toushiro. That was a bit more direct than I thought necessary. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Ichigo never was very subtle about things.

I glanced over to Toushiro. He looked pretty shocked at Ichigo as well. But why? He should know why Ichigo doesn't like him, right?

"I can talk to him if I want." I said shrugging. "Come on Yuzu, you wanted to go on some of the rides right?" I said while pulling both her and Toushiro with me as I walked passed Ichigo.

After a while we were all still walking around the fair. I hadn't seen any booth I thought I could win at so I still didn't get any prizes yet. Ichigo won at everything he tried. He won a bunch different stuff for Rukia and Yuzu. Me being me, still wouldn't ask him to get me anything. Besides, I wanted to win something myself. Toushiro didn't go to any of the booths either. He just said they were a rip off and he didn't care about prizes. He's such a stiff.

Him and Ichigo haven't said anything to each other at all but I would see them shoot each other looks every once in a while. This was frustrating. Now I just wanted to get them away from each other. I wasn't getting any answers and they were just getting me more and more annoyed. Yuzu and Rukia were walking in front of us, talking about whatever. Ichigo was walking on my left while Toushiro was on my right. So basically I was in the middle of them, keeping them from going at each others' throats at any second. I really needed to get them apart.

"Can we go yet?" I asked to anyone.

Yuzu turned around. "Not yet!" she protested. "Theres still a few more rides we need to go on first." she announced before turning back around. She continued to lead the way over to the fair rides.

That was another thing I hated about fairs. The rides here suck. I was a roller coaster person and these little spinning rides never cut it. And even if there was a roller coaster here, I wouldn't get on it. A fair is in town for a week at the most and I don't trust rides that only took a few days to set up. Call me paranoid but after almost drowning and trampled I think I should be more cautious about things.

I started to walk just a little bit slower. Toushiro noticed and looked at me curiously. I gestured him to slow down too. Eventually we were behind everyone else and then I stopped. "Come on." I said to him quietly.

I took off in the opposite direction of Ichigo and the girls with Toushiro following closely behind. "Why are we running?" he asked.

"To get away from Ichigo." I said. Once we were out of view I stopped and started walking around. "Guess I'm ditching them like you did with Hinamori." I continued.

He sighed and walked along with me. I looked around for a few seconds and then I saw it. A booth. I went up to it and almost gasped. One of the prizes was a brand new soccer ball that was just calling my name. It was a _Blue Samurai_ ball, Japan's national soccer team. I have to get it. "Hey you." I said to the booth guy. "What do I have to do to get that soccer ball?" I asked.

He looked at me and grinned. I shuddered. All the people that worked here all had that same creepy smile. "You just have to knock down all three bottles in one hit." he said gesturing to the three milk bottles, two at the bottom and one on top. "You get three tries for five dollars."

"Too easy." I said, crossing my arms. "This thing has gotta be rigged or something. You can't expect me to believe that." I can't help it if I'm a cynic.

The guy didn't let his grin falter. "How about I only charge you three dollars for three tries. Does that sound like a rip off?"

I bit my lip. That didn't sound too bad, but that didn't change the fact that it was probably just a trick. But all the other booths were a least seven dollars. Dammit what should I do?

"Fine." I said handing the guy three dollars and he gave me the three baseballs. Toushiro just shook his head. I pouted at him "Don't judge me."

I had the first ball in hand. I aimed and threw the ball between the two bottom ones. But when the ball hit the bottles, nothing happened! That bastard! I knew it was cheating me!

The man laughed. "Looks like you need to put more muscle in it, girly."

What did he just say? Oh hell no! I'm not having that. I threw the second ball directly at the guy's face. Hit him dead in the nose. Take that you crook! "Was that enough muscle?" I asked quite satisfied with myself.

Toushiro gave a chuckle behind me. A really sexy chuckle. A really sexy chuckle that made me want to hit myself for thinking it was sexy.

The booth guy glared at me while holding his now bloody nose. "You brat." he said nasally. "Get out of here."

"I still have one more try left." I teased, tossing the last ball up and down in my hand. I knew I wouldn't be able win at this booth. From the looks of it, those bottles weren't gonna budge.

"Hand it here." Toushiro said with his hand out. "I'll take the last throw." he spoke as he took the ball without bothering to wait for me to hand it over.

I wasn't about to argue over it. If he wanted to try than I didn't really care. I now knew this damn booth was just another rip off. "You think you can knock them over?" I asked skeptically. "They're probably glued together."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter." Arrogant as usual. He walked up to the booth and without even taking time to aim he threw the ball. It was so fast I almost missed it. When the ball hit the bottles they all either went flying or broke.

No way. I could only stare stupidly. I mean, did he really just do that? "How... did you...?"

Before I could finish he tossed me the soccer ball I was practically drooling over just a few minutes ago. I dumbly looked from the ball in my hands to Toushiro. He won the ball for me? "I can't take this." I muttered to him as I held it out for him to grab.

He furrowed his eyes at me. "Why not?"

"Toushiro, this is a _Blue Samurai_ ball." I scolded. He was acting like he didn't know how cool it was or something. "You're the one who won it."

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "And I won it for you." he stated simply. "Besides, it was your money. You paid for it. You keep it." he pressed.

This shocked me to no end. I fake gasped. "I can't believe I'm hearing this! What happened to the haughty ass I've come to know and adore?" I teased.

"Don't worry." he assured. "Me being nice to you doesn't hurt my vast pride in the least." he claimed, walking away from the booth and past some girls who just about fainted when they saw him. I looked back at the booth guy and stuck my tongue out at him before walking away.

A smile crept its way onto my face. I couldn't help but find Toushiro the most interesting guy I've ever known. I followed up behind him with the ball under my arm. "So when do you plan on going home?" I questioned.

"I don't know. I'm trying to avoid that right now." he admitted. "I'll probably leave once Momo and Rangiku find me."

I cocked my head to the side. "Are you avoiding them?"

"Kinda."

Maybe he didn't want to go home because he lived alone. He said his parents were both dead and that he lived by himself. Could it be he feels lonely? And I wonder how his parents died, but I didn't want to ask him something personal like that. I hated it when people asked me how Mom had died. It was never a subject I liked to talk about.

I shook my head. I also hated thinking about Mom being gone.

Trying to distract myself, I started thinking about other things. Like next week when I have to go against those seniors. They weren't letting the freshmen – which I guess includes me even though I'm in an advanced class – use the soccer field to practice. Until the season starts, that field was the only place to go and with those seniors hogging the field its a real pain. I challenged them to a match, winner getting to use the field whenever they want. I even found some other freshmen who were willing to join my temporary team. I just need to make sure they'll be ready by next week Friday. I looked at my new soccer ball. I was so gonna kick some ass with this.

"When are you leaving?"

I shrugged. "I guess I could leave now but I should probably find the others first." Of course they'd probably already left without me. Well maybe they would if Ichigo wasn't so bent on not letting me near Toushiro.

"So..." I said after a while of silence that was starting to bug me.

"So?" he repeated impatiently.

"I don't know." I blurted. "But you weren't talking." I pointed out.

Toushiro looked at me strangely before speaking. "Okay so lets talk then." he said like I was stupid or something. "Talk about something."

Hello! Isn't that what I was just trying to do? Is he really a genius because the way he acts sometimes I'm not so sure. But maybe he just wasn't paying attention because of how extremely aloof he is. Emotionally I mean. Its a quite obvious – and probably what makes girls swoon over him – feature of his. And as more time goes by, I think I start to figure him out more and more. Hes constantly overbearing but I think that his lofty attitude his just an act. A very good act I might add. Like he only says these things to make him sound more normal. Like hes had a lot of time to practice it. It starts to frustrate me though. I can never tell what hes really thinking.

I groaned. "Where are they?" I asked myself out loud. I needed to find the others before I left. I really need to get a cell phone.

Looking at the stupid people with those big goofy grins on their faces is pissing me off. The fair is not that great where you just walk around smiling at everything. Kind of like when you always see old people smiling when they're driving, by themselves. I just can't help but think, what the hell are they smiling about? Theres no one in the car with you so who are smiling at? And you're old as dirt, what have you got to be smiling about? Grey hair and wrinkled skin? Reflexes working at a slug's pace? Bones that turn into dust at a tap?

I sighed for the millionth time today. But I was getting agitated. I couldn't find them anywhere. I need to think of something. The Ferris Wheel! I'm such a genius, again. You can see everything from up there and with Ichigo's orange head I'll be able to find them easy. Now I just need to find where the ride was.

Once I spotted it I turned to Toushiro... who seemed a little preoccupied. He was currently pulling his arm from these two girls who had that crazy look in their eyes. A clear symptom of what I like to call, The Horrid Fangirl Malady. And there were enough girls infected with it that there should be a quarantine. I scowled and walked up to them pulling Toushiro out of their fangirl claws. "Get off him you clay-brained giglets!" I yelled at them. There was a long silence before someone spoke.

"... what?" one of the girls asked.

Wow did I really just call them clay-brained giglets? Maybe I've been reading too much of Ichigo's Shakespeare.

Without another word I grabbed Toushiro by his collar and quickly dragged him away. This was tiring. I'm starting to see why Hinamori is always needing to chase off girls. They were like ravenous hyenas and he was the freshly killed antelope. A weird metaphor, or simile, whatever, it made sense.

"You can let go now." he said after we were away from the girls. "And where are we going?"

"To the Ferris Wheel." I replied.

He gave me a confused look. "Why? I thought you hated the rides here."

I let go of him and walked up to the giant wheel. "I do, but I need to find Yuzu, Ichigo, and Rukia. I could probably spot them from the top." I explained while pointing to the crappy piece of junk. With my luck the thing will break down or something while I'm at the very top and I'll be stuck there all night.

One thing that was fortunate was that there was only two people in line when we got there. A couple. Really, how cheesy was that? The guy probably said something like, 'Come honey, lets watch the sunset on the Ferris Wheel together' to which she probably replied with, 'Yes darling, that would be just perfect. Just like those cliché romance movies I watch all the time'.

Hm, I've been talking about people a lot today. I wonder why? Most likely because I'm at one of the places I hate the most. I think I'd rather be at school doing work or even at home dealing with Dad. I shuddered at the thought. Okay maybe not the last part.

It was my turn to get on next. I almost got in but saw Toushiro standing still. "Come on."

He scrunched his nose in distaste. "Why?" How many times was he going to ask that today?

"You scared?" I teased.

"I don't like Ferris Wheels. They're boring" A thought we had in common.

"Oh no you don't." I stated knowingly as I put my hands on my hips. "If you think I'm going to be stuck up there all night by myself then you've got another thing coming."

Toushiro didn't know what to say to that. He didn't even know what I was talking about. But it doesn't matter cause he got in. I sat on one side and he sat on the other. The wheel started moving and slowly but surely we started going up. I was looking over the side of the door for any sign of my o' so loving family.

"Sweety you were right, the sunset is beautiful up here." The woman who was in front of us said to the guy she was with. They were two seats ahead of me and Toushiro but I could hear them too well.

"No where near as beautiful as you." he said back. How cheap was that. "You complete me." he went on to say. Was this guy serious? That was a quote from _Jerry Maguire_. I knew that because Yuzu and Rukia – and sometimes even Goat Chin – would always make me watch those stupid romance movies with them. I was more of an action or comedy person.

"Excuse me while I throw up, this is just torture."

The couple looked back at me and glared for second and then turned around. Did I say that out loud? My bad.

"I love you so much." The woman said as she kissed him.

He gave her a dopey look. "I love you too. A life without love is no life at all."

Toushiro cocked his head to the side. "Hes quoting _Ever After_ now? Pathetic."

I looked at the couple and gawked. "Oh come on! Come up with something thats not from 'The Top 10 Cheesiest Love Quotes' list." I shouted to the guy. Toushiro shook his head at me while stifling a laugh.

The couple looked back and glared at me again. I couldn't help it. This was probably the most distracting and annoying thing I've ever had to listen to.

I then raised a brow skeptically at Toushiro. "How did you know what movie that was from? I wouldn't take you as the romance-movie-junky type."

He rolled his eyes and muttered. "Momo." Sounds about right. Her and Yuzu were just alike, except when Momo wants to rip my head off.

The couple turned back to each other again. Yeah they better turn around. If they keep looking at me like they're going to do something I would be more than happy to make their time on this thing a living hell. Wow whats wrong with me? It must be the side effects from the energy pills. I was feeling energized but also very irritated. Well I'm touching those again. I was irritable enough without those things. After what seemed like forever we were at the top. I started looking over the sides again. The wheel went so high up I could see the entire fair. It looked a lot bigger than what I thought it was. "There they are." Toushiro announced.

I looked to where he was pointing. Sure enough there was Ichigo's bright orange hair sticking out from the crowd. They were all standing in just one place near the entrance. I guess they were waiting for me. Now we just needed to wait another 10 hours for this thing to reach the bottom. A few minutes later we finally got to the bottom but the wheel wasn't stopping. I stood up and leaned over the side of the cart and called the attention of the lady working the Ferris Wheel.

"Hey, can you stop this thing? I wanna get off." She just gave me that same creepy smile and shook her head. My mouth fell open. She put up two fingers which I assume meant we have to stay on for two more rounds. "You bitch." I breathed out. Toushiro found this amusing though.

I sat back down with a huff and crossed my arms. I contemplated hitting that air-headed bimbo with my soccer ball but decided against it. I probably wouldn't get it back if I did that.

It was starting to get dark out. I looked around and I had to admit the view past the fair was really nice. I looked at Toushiro. Really looked at him for the first time today. The sky's changing colors made his teal eyes look like they were glowing. It was like the first time I saw him. He looked over to me and I quickly looked away. I was looking at him like some lovestruck idiot. Now that I think about it, I've been doing that a lot lately. Oh no! I've contracted The Horrid Fangirl Malady! The only cure is... is there a cure? Shit, I need to find one quick.

"Trying to explain how much I love is like explaining how water tastes... completely impossible." the man ahead of us said to the woman. For God's sake couldn't they give it a rest?!

"Oh thats original!" I shouted to the guy again. "Where'd you hear that? Your 'Cheesy Ass Quote of the Day' toilet paper?" Like I said, couldn't help it. I was about ready to rip my own hair out listening to these two sappy morons.

The guy turned towards me. "Why don't you mind your own business!" he yelled to me.

"Yeah!" the woman agreed. Shes such a sheep. She then looked at Toushiro and kept her eyes on him for a second. What the hell was she looking at him for? Toushiro looked at me as if he knew what I was thinking and shrugged. She started talking again. Took her long enough to come up with a comeback. "I feel sorry for your boyfriend over there. It must be terrible being stuck in a cart with _you_." she said snidely and then turned back around.

I stood up quicker than I could register. I yelled at her while waving my fist in the air. "What was that you mangle-faced scut?!"

Mangle-faced scut? Now I _know_ I've been reading way too much Shakespeare. The woman looked back at me oddly for a second and then turned back around to ignore me. Oh I wasn't having that. I continued to throw insults at the back of her head. The cart was starting to rock because of my moving.

"Karin." Toushiro chided. "You'll fall if you don't sit down."

He may be right but I wasn't near done telling that bitch off. Those pills got me all hyper to fight. Damn fair! Its all this stupid fair's fault!

"When this ride is done you better run cause I'm gonna kick your ass the second I get off this thing!" I kept shouting. Even though we still have another round after this one. Why o why is this so slow?

"Calm down." Toushiro said listlessly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why should I? She should've kept her mouth shut." He just sighed. Oh so he was on her side now? I'm already in a bad mood and hes making it worse. "And whats with you?" I asked. Dammit the energy pills are possessing me.

"Me?"

I started pacing inside the cart which wasn't the best idea but I couldn't care less. "Just the other day you say we aren't friends. Like its the most obvious thing in the world." I spell out. "But today you hang out with me, you even won me a prize." I gestured to the _Blue Samurai_ ball. "What are you playing at?"

He just looked at me with that intense stare of his that just made you feel insignificant. I kept my pacing to fight off a direct look at him. It didn't seem like he was going to answer either. But I think I really need an answer. He was confusing me so much lately that I don't know what to think. Why does he have to be so complicated? I looked at him and for a brief second he looked unsure, but it was gone so quickly I think I imagined it.

Because of my pacing the cart was still tipping and I – big surprise – lose my balance. Dumb Ferris Wheel. I fall forward at Toushiro who was sitting opposite of me. His hands went to my waste keeping me up at an angle. This felt all too familiar as I was now looking him in the eyes again. His deep teal eyes that looked like they were glowing. I was frozen. I hated how looking him in the eye did this to me. It was like they were trapping me or something.

I didn't move. He didn't move. We were just sitting still, his hands on my waste holding me up, my hands on his arms. Just like when we met. It was too freaky for words.

Then I noticed something. He was getting closer! That or I was the one moving closer to him. His eyes still had their hold on me and I couldn't move, not that I think I wanted to at the moment. My heart was pounding like it was on crack and I could feel all the heat in my body race to my face. Without taking his eyes off me he pressed his lips against mine. They were warm and yet had an unexplainable chill to them. Nervously I kissed back. I had never kissed a guy before and knew that I was quite bad at it but Toushiro sure knew what he was doing.

I think he was a little shocked that I kissed back. So was I. Mine's were clumsy and unsure while he was an expert at this. His hands pulled me closer as he continued to skillfully take my breath away. I can't believe this is happening. Never would I have thought that this would happen, and at a fair no less. After a while I pulled away to catch my breath. We were both breathing hard and I slipped from his grip and back onto the seat across from him.

This whole time his eyes hadn't left me once. I was silent. I didn't know what to say. What do you say to a guy who just stole your first kiss? Normally I'd be mad, not that I care about things like 'first kisses' but that caught me off guard. But I wasn't. His face was red, mine probably mirroring his right now. Then I heard him speak. So softly I almost didn't catch it. Those words sent chills down my spine. Now I really couldn't get my head working. I guess my reply would have to wait until later.

I didn't even notice the Ferris Wheel had stopped. Toushiro stood up with his hands in his pockets and got out the cart. Dumbfounded, I couldn't make myself move. I looked over to him where he was about to walk away from the ride. Hinamori and Rangiku walked up to him out of no where, but didn't seem to notice that he had just gotten off the ride with me. Toushiro flashed his brilliant eyes at me one last time with that cocky smirk before walking off with the two girls.

So many thoughts in just a second plowed through my mind. Did that really just happen? Did Toushiro Hitsugaya just kiss me? Karin Kurosaki? When he could have any girl on the face of the earth he chose to kiss plain little me? I swear I could wake up any moment.

"Karin! There you are." Yuzu called. I looked to my right and there was Ichigo, Yuzu, and Rukia standing next to the Ferris Wheel. I got up and walked to them, still a little dazed.

Ichigo furrowed his brows. "You okay?" I just nodded. "Where were you?"

"Ferris Wheel." Was all that escaped my lips. The rest off them shrugged and started to leave for the exit of the fair. I followed absently while still thinking about what Toushiro had said. It confused me but I couldn't help but feel a sort of joy in his words.

"_We aren't friends... because I'm not going to just settle for a friendship with you."_

_

* * *

_

**Yeah that last line was a little cheesy but I had such a hard time wording it. The end was a little rushed and over all I don't really like this chapter. I think I'm too picky about what I should write. What do you guys think of this chapter? Please let me know!**

**_Please review to tell me what you guys think! Luv ya!_**


	5. A Stalker Named Death

**Hey there guys! First update of the New Year! So so sorry about the incredibly long wait. Thanks for being patient, I've gotten such wonderful comments from you guys. I wanted to get this up before Christmas but I didn't have time between family, working on my other fic, and rewriting this chapter 3 different times. I made this chap long because I made you guys wait. It didn't turn out as well as I wanted but not too bad I think. I've already started the next chapter which is looking much better to me.**

**Hope you guys don't mind but I'm going to stay in Karin's POV for a little while. It works better for whats going to happen in the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

* * *

School. You know, that place where kids are forced to go by their parents? Usually boring, uneventful, a dull pain in the ass, and overall just a day in the life of student, right? Well lets just say I wish school was that way for me. Sure school itself was no big deal, but the hostile undertone of the people _in_ the school was a whole other thing.

There was three main sources of this malice that was stinking up the school. The first and most numerous was the girls. Fangirls to be exact. Though things have died down since the pool party almost three weeks ago, there was still some aggression at me for Toushiro giving me mouth to mouth. The second was Ichigo. Hes been in a really bad mood since the fair last weekend for obvious reasons. To my utter annoyance I still haven't a clue as to why he hates Toushiro's guts and I don't think I'll find out any time soon. The last but definitely not least was Hinamori. Still getting glares from that one.

Hm. I guess its a good thing none of the three 'Anti-Karin' groups know about what happened at the fair. Then again, I'm still not too sure about what happened. Toushiro Hitsugaya _kissed_ me. How the hell did that happen? I'm not complaining but I'm a little confused to say the least. Out of all the girls in the school – or world for that matter – and he says he wants me. Why not someone like Hinamori? Shes pretty and seems kinda sweet as long as I'm not around. I'm assuming she is anyway since oddly enough, her and Yuzu get along really well. And its obvious she likes him. But no, Toushiro said me. Karin Kurosaki.

On the other hand, not to sound conceited or anything but I _am_ pretty awesome.

Remembering I'm still in school, I looked at the white board to see what our assignment from Mr. Ukitake was. A bunch of bookwork. I scribbled down the page numbers and started working right away. I didn't want homework tonight.

But as hard as I tried to think about my work, I couldn't get my mind off of Toushiro. I glanced up and saw him in his seat by the window, looking as he usually does, aloof and carefree. How does he do that? How can he be so calm about everything? I didn't know if its just because I'm making it a bigger deal than what it was. I don't think I'm over reacting though, given how everyone else is reacting to me and Toushiro simply talking to each other. They don't even have a clue as to what he said to me or the kiss. Correction. The AMAZING kiss. I wonder where he learned to kiss so well? It obviously wasn't his first time.

When I told Yuzu about it after the fair, she practically smothered me in a hug and bombarded me with questions. She told me she thought I was doomed to be alone forever with 20 cats. I knew that would never happen though, I'm more of a dog person. At least I have someone on my side though. She promised not to let it slip to her new BFF – which is still really weird – Hinamori. The only other person who knows is Nel, and I didn't even tell her! She took one look at me this morning and guessed. Now _that's_ weird.

I practically skimmed through all my work since I wasn't all there. I was too busy playing over my odd little situation. I quickly finished my work and not a second later the bell rang. I got up and placed my stuff in my bag while keeping my eyes on Toushiro. Maybe I'm just really, really stupid but I decided to go up and talk to him, not caring who saw. Besides, its not like I can't say 'hi' to a friend. Or not a friend. I mean... wait what? He looked at me and I smiled at him. "Hey, whats up?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much." he then cast his glance somewhere else, then back to me. "You sure you can be talking to me?" he asked with mild amusement.

I turned to look where he had and saw Ichigo with his usual scowl, glaring at Toushiro. He could give Hinamori a run for her money. I turned back to Toushiro and shrugged in the same manner he had. "He can't tell me who I can and can't talk to. But as you saw at the fair, he isn't too crazy about you." I continued. "You sure you don't know why?"

He gave me a hesitant look before answering. "No."

"Alright." I sighed. He was definitely hiding something, so maybe he really did know why Ichigo and even Rukia didn't like him. I needed to find out what was with these people. Wheres a private investigator when you need one? We walked down to the cafeteria before I stopped and turned to him. "I need you to do me a favor."

Toushiro studied me for a moment. "Whats the favor?"

I put my hands on my hips, thinking. "Just so we have an understanding. No one will know about what happened at the fair." I stated seriously. I really didn't want word to get to Ichigo and have to hear him lecturing me about how I should stay away from Toushiro. "Okay?"

He just smirked at me. "Afraid the other girls in the school will be jealous?"

Arrogant jerk. But... now that he mentioned it, I also don't want the girls in the school to find out either. I rolled my eyes. "Jealous because you kissed me? You wish." How big can your head get.

"Actually they have a lot of reasons to be jealous of you. Not because of me." Toushiro corrected with a drawl. "You have a lot of good points, and you're definitely much easier to be around."

Did he just compliment me? I felt my face heat up slightly. I quickly gave him a skeptical look, not very convinced. "Really?" I asked in a snarky tone.

"Why would I lie?" he asked with a raised brow. "Do I look like the kind of person who would lie to make others feel good about themselves?" Good point.

We made it to the cafeteria where we split off. I saw Rangiku giving Toushiro a look when he got to his table. Crap, I hope she didn't know. There was gonna be some serious problems if Hinamori found out. I sat down at my usual table and saw Yuzu smiling at me. "What?"

"Oh nothing." she beamed.

As lunch passed by, me, Yuzu, and Rukia talked about various things, mostly school. Though Rukia didn't seem to want me to hangout with Toushiro, she never constantly told me so. Ichigo, however, was brooding in his spot, not wanting to engage in our conversation. He could be such a baby sometimes.

The bell rang and me, Rukia, and Ichigo went off to our gym class. I was getting more used to this schedule after almost 2 months here, though it feels much longer. Maybe even too long. I can't help but feel like something really bad is going to happen. I've had this strange feeling since I got to Seireitei but its never turned bad like it has recently. I'm probably just being paranoid, especially since nothing ever happens when you actually think something will.

I got dressed and walked into the gym where everyone else was. There were two long ropes that traveled from the ceiling, to the floor where some mats were laid out. The gym teacher blew his whistle to get our attention. "Listen up. Today we're going to have rope climbing tests." Tests? How can he give us a test on something we've never done before? Thats messed up.

He walked up to the ropes and continued. "The ropes go up to the ceiling so they are 35 feet long. You only have to climb 25 feet where the red tape is." he pointed up where we all spotted the red tape. "If you want extra credit, you can climb up to the very top. But if you don't think you can keep a grip, you should stop at the tape. Even with the mats, if you fall from the top you can seriously hurt yourself." he warned. "I'll be timing you so do your best."

We all lined up in front of the two ropes. Girls on the left and boys on the right. When we started, it was taking a lot longer than I thought it would on the girls' side. The guys were going almost twice as fast as the girls. It was annoying. I felt the need to repeat that the girls at this school were so pathetic. Needless to say the Spectacular Six did... spectacular. Only four of them had gone so far and they all went to the very top in only seconds, where it took the other students minutes to even reach the tape. Only two other students got close to the S.S. It was Ichigo and Rukia.

I don't know whats up with them, but I think they're hiding something – other than the reason why they hate Toushiro. Ever since Ichigo met Rukia about four years ago in Karakura, he would go missing for a few days about once a month. I used to get so angry at him for making Yuzu worry so much. I thought once we moved here they would stop, but they still take off for a couple of days. And of course Goat Chin doesn't say anything about it as if it were normal.

I stopped my musing when I looked ahead. It was almost my turn to climb. I looked over to the boys' side and almost fell over. Parallel to me was none other than Toushiro. Which means I'll have to climb while he's climbing. In other words, I'm gonna look like an out of shape loser compared to him. Why did I have to be paired next to one of athletic geniuses?

I stepped up to the rope. Well there's no way I'm going to stop at the red tape. I have to go all the way so I can look somewhat decent, although compared to all these other girls that won't be too hard. Toushiro looked bored as ever as he stepped up to the rope. He spared a look at me and gave me one of those pompous smirks of his. "I won't make you look too bad." he said so only I could hear, though I thought I heard someone snicker behind me.

God I wanted to punch him! He is so going down. I gritted my teeth to keep from saying something that would make a grown man cringe.

I grabbed the rope and the gym teacher blow his annoyingly high whistle. I began to climb like my life depended on it. I wasn't going to let Toushiro get the best of me. It was harder than it looked, but I'm lucky that I'm so light. This would have been murder if I was really fat. Before I knew it I was at the tape. Oh yeah, I was fast. But when I looked over to the other rope, Toushiro was already at the top. In fact, he was taking his sweet time like the haughty ass he was. Once I got to the top, he began to go down.

It was at that moment I heard something that almost made me lose my grip. I heard a tearing kind of sound. I didn't see where it was coming from but in the pit of my stomach, I knew what it was. I looked up to see that my rope was starting to tear. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! The freaking cheap ass rope was going to tear! I started to slowly move down when a voice cut in.

"Don't move you idiot." I heard Toushiro's cold voice snap. Okay fine, I guess moving would be stupid... but there was no need for name calling.

"Then what do I do?" I shot back.

"Kurosaki! Hitsugaya! What are you two doing?!" Our gym teacher yelled. "This isn't the time to be flirting!"

I heard some snickers and growls from the class. I rolled my eyes. There was a small jerk from my rope as the threads started to give out. "Crap, I gotta think." I said out loud to myself. Well at least the fall wouldn't kill me, right? Maybe a sprained ankle but nothing too bad, right? As much as I wanted to think that my stomach felt like it was in a knot. "Should I just jump?" I asked Toushiro.

He was about to say something before our teacher cut him off.

"Kurosaki and Hitsu-"

"Shut up!" I shouted back on impulse. Could he not see I was trying to concentrate on not falling 35 feet to the ground? Well, he probably couldn't but still.

"Thats it! Both of you have a detention!" he screamed.

I tuned out his yelling and tried to think of a way I could get down without the rope snapping. I was so nervous, my palms started to sweat making it harder to grip the rope. Talk about self-sabotage. I'm actually surprised I hadn't freaked out yet. Suddenly I felt a prominent jerk and a huge gasp from below. It was so sudden and unexpected that it tipped me backwards as I began to fall. Now I was going to fall head first and break my neck, leaving me dead or paralyzed. Lovely.

Then I felt another jerk. I could feel a grip on my right ankle and I was swinging back and forth upside-down. I looked down – or up, whatever – at my foot and saw Toushiro holding onto me with one hand while the other was holding onto his rope. I let a huge sigh of relief. Not to sound ungrateful but I am so sick of getting my butt saved by him. Why do these things keep happening? And why is Toushiro always there to save the stupid day? And...

I looked at Toushiro unbelieving. "How the hell did you catch me?" Did he swing over like Tarzan or something? He must be stronger than I thought too. Hes holding onto the rope with one hand while holding me with the other.

I grabbed onto my shirt that was starting to fall down and show too much skin and looked down at the class. They all looked panicked but didn't seem to know what to do. Even the teacher. I, myself, was getting dizzy with all this blood rushing to my head. "How are we getting down?" I finally asked Toushiro. He gave me an annoyed look. "Yeah, like it was my fault the rope tore." I snapped at him.

He sighed. "How should I know?"

Just as he finished there was another goddamn jerk. You gotta be kidding me. "You gotta be kidding me." Toushiro hissed.

Unlike the first time, I heard the snap before I fell. But like the last time, I was still head first. With my eyes closed I heard the students scream and the shuffling of their feet. The fall seemed dreadfully long. Longer than just 35 feet. It was like I was falling in slow motion, only making the eventual impact that much more sudden. I just knew the second I hit the floor its all over.

But I didn't. I felt an almost cushioned landing. I opened my eyes and saw overwhelmingly bright orange hair. "Karin? Are you okay?"

Halle-freaking-lujah I'm not dead!

Leave it to Ichigo to actually catch me in his arms like some macho hero in an action movie. I didn't realize how shaken up I was until he set me on my feet. The second I put weight on my feet I almost keeled right over. But wait. If Ichigo caught me, than what about Toushiro? Turning around at breakneck speed looking for Toushiro. And there he was, standing next to me like he didn't just fall 35 feet. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought he was down here the whole time. Did he land on his feet or something? Why was I the only one who seemed to notice?

Ichigo looked at me concerned. "You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Ichigo."

Before I could speak any further, our gym teacher walked up to us. "Kurosaki."

"Yeah?" Both me and Ichigo answered at the same time.

"Younger Kurosaki," he corrected. Duh. "You and Hitsugaya head down to the nurse's office."

That wasn't really necessary, after all, I am a nurse. But I suppose he would only get in more trouble if he didn't make us go to get checked out. Well, at least I get to miss the rest of gym. The teacher blew his whistle to get the attention of the other students who were all looking at the torn rope. He spoke once all eyes were on him. "The rest of gym is canceled. You can change and go home early." Bullshit.

I was waiting in the hall – already dressed– until Toushiro finally came out. He titled his head to the side. "You waited for me?" he asked teasingly.

"Don't get too full of yourself." I rolled my eyes. "I don't know where the nurse's office is."

"You're actually going?" he asked.

"You're not?"

He looked like he was looking for a way to phrase what he was going to say. But in the end, it just came out as a vague answer. "Its a waste of time. I'm obviously not hurt."

I pursed my lips in thought. "Are you sure? How did you land?"

He just shrugged like he didn't know either. "I've had worse spills."

Didn't really know how to reply to that. He walked passed in a manner that told me to follow him. Who does he think I am? His hoe? But I ended up following anyways since I didn't want to be standing in the hall like an idiot. We skipped the trip to the nurse and left the school like the other students in our gym class, though I made sure to stay clear of Ichigo and Rukia. There was still a good 45 minutes of school left until Yuzu would be out.

"So where are we going?" I asked as we walked down the street.

He didn't need to answer though, I eventually realized where this street leads. The soccer field. When we made it to the field, it was completely empty. "What are we doing here?"

He sighed. "I just needed a place so we can talk."

"So why did we have to come way out here?" I questioned. It was kinda creepy, after all, since this is exactly what happens in scary movies when the psycho acts friendly and then suddenly gets you alone with them so they can go axe crazy. Though I'm sure Toushiro wasn't a serial killer. How could make other feel inferior to him if they were dead?

"Without others listening in." he explained with an annoyed look on his face. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued. "You didn't notice those girls that were following us?"

Seriously? Okay, _they_ are the ones who are axe crazy. They really needed a life instead of stalking Toushiro around. I shifted my weight between my feet as I looked around. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Your brother." he stated bluntly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?" I asked suspiciously. Did he have a thing for Ichigo? I then fake gasped in horror and placed my hands on my cheeks. "You have a secret crush on him, don't you? You've just been using me to get close to him, haven't you?!"

He was not amused. "I'm serious."

"So am I." I managed to say with a straight face.

He ignored my joking and suddenly asked a question in a cautious voice. "Does he tend to disappear for a couple of days every once in a while?"

My eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

Toushiro walked up closer to me, so we were only inches apart. His eye were focused on mine. He looked a little apprehensive, as if he was going to regret what he was going to say even before he said it. "For now, just answer my questions. I promise I'll explain everything later."

I looked to the ground for a few seconds. I couldn't really think while looking him in the eyes. It was odd because it seemed like Toushiro knew something about Ichigo that I didn't. I kind of doubt he'll actually tell me anything. Something about what he was saying seemed to be very secret. Something that I shouldn't know about under any circumstance. But then there was the chance that he really would tell me. I feel so left in the dark about a lot of things, and most of it being my own family. This could be my only chance to get some understanding about things.

I looked back to him. "Fine. I'll answer your questions if you promise you'll answer mine later." I said with a slight glare. "What do you want to know?"

"How often does he leave?" he asked with a hint of urgency. "Can you tell me about when it started?"

I thought about it for a second. "About once a month." I noticed him, tense a little. "It started a few years ago when he met Rukia. At first Ichigo would always back home all beat up, but eventually he would come back just fine." That really bugged me too. The first time it ever happened I freaked out. Rukia was hauling Ichigo who was covered blood and bruises into the house after he disappeared for two days.

Toushiro looked to the side, thinking I assumed. I guess what ever I said was what he was aiming for, though I had a feeling it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. He didn't look so much angry as he did irritated. Tired almost.

"Can I ask you something?"

He looked up to me, his expression changed and calm. "What is it?"

"Why do you care about what Ichigo does?"

He sighed and gave me a scolding look. "I thought we said I'll explain _later_." He then gave me a cocky half smile, diverting my question. "But I can assure you its not because I have any interest in him."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms as I spoke sarcastically. "Right, because _I'm_ the one you find intriguing."

"Exactly." he chimed. I was about to retort until I noticed some kids walking on the sidewalk. School must've ended already. We were really out here that long? I saw a few older looking kids start to walk this way and I recognized them to be some of the seniors that weren't letting the freshmen use the soccer field. I never saw them at school so I'm guessing they go to the other high school in Seireitei. This Friday was when me and some other freshmen are going to have a match to see who can use the field.

There were five of them, all guys, and all much bigger than me or Toushiro. They stopped in front of us with pissed looks on there faces. "What are you doing here?" one of them directed at me.

I glared at them. "I can be here if I want."

"Yeah right." he scoffed. "Get off our field."

When I didn't move, one of the other guys spoke. "Little kids like you need to listen to your olders."

"Its 'elders' you dumb ass." I corrected while crossing my arms. Its like they all killed their braincells sniffing markers or something.

"You little brat." He stepped forward towards me but Toushiro quickly stepped in between. I actually forgot he was here for a second.

Toushiro was standing stiffly in front of me. I didn't see his face because his back was to me, but his voice was really low. "You should leave before you get hurt."

I wasn't sure if he was talking to them or me. One of the seniors looked at Toushiro then me before questioning snidely. "You got your boyfriend protecting you?" he turned back to his friends. "I think we're gonna have to teach this little punk a lesson."

I didn't like where this was going. There were five of them and even if Toushiro was the best at sports, that didn't mean he could take them all on. But he didn't look like he was going to back down anytime soon. I don't want Toushiro to take a beating for me, even if he is an egotistical jerk sometimes. I grabbed his shoulder. "Toushiro... I don't think this is a good idea."

"Wait." One of the guys said with a nervous look on his face. "Toushiro? As in Toushiro Hitsugaya?"

"They know you?" I asked. Toushiro just shrugged, not seeming at all surprised by their reaction to his name.

Their expressions soon turned almost panicked. "The one who beat up Koga?"

"No way! This can't be him!"

"But it is! They even said he had white hair."

"I'm outta here." One of them stated and quickly began to walk away. Three more followed until there was only one of the seniors was left.

"We're still going to beat you this Friday." the last one barked before he hightailed it off the field with his friends. I watched as they all disappeared around the street. Was it just me or did they look like they were ready to pee their pants when they found out who Toushiro was?

Well this certainly adds to the ever expanding list of things that utterly confuse me. "What was that about?" I looked to my side where Toushiro was.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Last year I got into a fight with a guy from the other school."

"And you won."

"Yep."

I rubbed my hands down my face in frustration. This was a really crappy day. "I should probably head home." I thought out loud.

I then remembered I never actually thanked Toushiro from today in gym, and I should probably thank him for just a few seconds ago too. Again, it was annoying to have him always around saving me from something. I can take care of myself. I'm not some stupid ditz who always needs the guy to save her from everything. And I'll be damned if I let something like this happen again. But since he did help me, I can at least thank him.

A thought came to mind. I grinned to myself and took a step closer to Toushiro. He looked at me curiously and before letting him say anything, I leaned closer to him and gave him a kiss. It was quick and innocent but admittedly held some meaning. When I pulled back I grinned at him victoriously. "Thanks."

Toushiro's face was a little red and I'm sure he didn't like that I caught him off guard. I felt compelled to show him that I was actually grateful for his help. I further surprised him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He tensed up but didn't pull away. "But really Toushiro, thank you." I pulled away. "If it weren't for you... I'd be dead three different times."

His expression seemed to hold some kind of sadness when I said that. But it was gone in a flash and he gave me a content look. He stepped closer and gave me a small kiss back. It was soft and peaceful, comforting. "Your welcome." he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He left the field and did the same, only in the opposite direction. I just knew I was grinning like an idiot walking home. It was weird to think that I was acting like girl with her first crush. Something I was positive would never happen. Maybe these kinds of things are inevitable. Or maybe its just what I want to tell myself. Either way, I knew Toushiro was really start to grow on me.

When I got home I went straight to my room and fell face first on my bed. I didn't realize how tired I was until now. But what did I expect? I almost got seriously hurt – or worse – today and had a weird conversation about my brother with Toushiro. And then we kissed, again. Thank God I finished my homework. But as tired as I felt, I couldn't get myself to sleep. All night.

I laid on my bed looking at the ceiling all through the night. When morning came, I went through my routine without even consciously doing anything. I didn't notice I was at school until I felt someone shake me up from my daze.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" I blinked a few times and saw Nel standing next to me. Creepy how I wasn't aware of anything until just now. Hell, I probably punched out Dad this morning and didn't even notice. "Oh, yeah. I'm just really tired. I didn't get any sleep last night."

She smiled suggestively. "Would this have something to do with Toushiro?"

My eyes widened. "No!" I practically yelled at her. "Why would you even think that?"

Nel tilted her head to the side in thought. "Well for starters, he _kissed_ you!"

"Shut up." I hissed. "Are you trying to get the whole school on my ass?" Because if any of these crazy girls heard that, things would not be pleasant in the least.

Her eyes widened and she pointed at me. "Oh my God! You guys kissed again yesterday!" she yelled in a whisper.

I quickly looked around to make sure no one heard her. "How the hell do you do that?"

"Its a gift."

Yeah, a gift that scares the shit out of me. I leaned against my locker and yawned. Grimmjow walked up to me and Nel by our lockers. "Hey."

Nel quickly turned to him. "Toushiro Hitsugaya kissed Karin during the fair! And then they kissed again yesterday after school!" she whispered loudly to him.

"What?!" he gaped. "You're playing tongue tennis with the Ice Box?"

"Hey!" I shouted. "Don't tell everyone!" I really think Nel was underestimating the insanity of these girls. "Besides, the second time was just a peck..." she looked at me unconvinced. "Okay, two pecks." I rolled my eyes.

She pouted at me. "I'm just telling Grimmjow because it explains what happened yesterday when he skipped gym."

I rolled my eyes. "How is us kissing relevant to what happened yesterday?"

Grimmjow furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What happened yesterday?"

"Well," Nel started as if she was getting ready to lay out her life story. "In gym yesterday, we were climbing ropes, and Karin's rope snapped while she was at the top." She said dramatically. "But then, at the last second, Toushiro saved her. If he hadn't caught her, she could've been killed." She was definitely milking this. "Can you believe it? Toushiro Hitsugaya saved her life at the pool party, gave her mouth to mouth, kissed her at the fair, then saved her life again, then kissed her again! Its like a love story. Fate is setting them up together." she finished with a lot of enthusiasm.

He scratched the back of his. "That sounds like bullshit if you ask me." I'd like to say that, but a lot of weird stuff has been happening lately. Grimmjow then chuckled and looked at me. "And whats with you almost being killed _again_?"

"Wish I knew." I mumbled.

"You know, it could be some of these girls." Nel concluded. "I bet one of them put a curse on you since you seem to keep getting closer and closer to Toushiro. They're trying to get rid of you."

Grimmjow nodded his head. "Now that I believe. These chicks are psycho." At least I wasn't the only one who thought so. In fact, maybe that really was why I've almost died close to three times in the two months I've been in Seireitei. Its the most logical explanation to me.

The bell rang and we all went to our class. When I walked in, I saw Toushiro reading at his desk. I was tempted to go greet him but knew that if I wanted to make sure no one else found out about our... relationship? Then I'd have to make sure I don't act like some lovesick teenager. That reminds me. According to him, he tell me whatever I want to know about him and Ichigo later. Of course I don't know when later is, but its something.

I sat in my seat in the back of the room and looked ahead at the board. The seemed to be going slower than usually. It felt like we've been in class for at least two hours. I looked at the clock and its only been 10 minutes. Dammit. Eventually I rested my head on my desk. It seemed my lack of sleep was starting to kick in. I was so tired and history wasn't making it any easier to stay awake. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy and before I know it, I was out like a light.

_I lifted my head up to face the man in front of me. He, along with the rest of the crowd, had a fearful tint in their eyes. Yet that did nothing to hide the more apparent hatred they held towards me. I shifted uncomfortably under the rope that was tightly tied around my arms behind me. I could get away now if I wanted to... but I don't. Somewhere deep down I want to see their attempts to rid me of this village. Although, I already know the most likely outcome will be these very people losing their own lives. Tonight was a full moon after all._

"_Burn the demon!" A woman shouted out. The other villagers began to shout their agreement. _

_The man in front of me seemed to like that idea. "Bring me fire!"_

_A young boy, close to the age I looked, walked out from the crowd with a torch in his hand. He kept his head down completely focused on not letting his eyes meet mine. That happened quite often. The man took the torch and raised it to my face as if wanting to see the same fear he held, in my eyes as well. I simply pulled my head back from the heat. He grabbed my hair with one hand and pulled my face closer to the fire, ready to see my skin burn at the flame._

"_Wait!" yelled a small voice from the crowd. The villagers looked to a young girl covered in cloth that shaded her face from direct view. It was her. Though she should have left with the others and wait for me to return, she came here. Out of impulse no doubt. I wish she had stayed away from here. If they knew she was the same as me, she would be tied up here also, and what ever the outcome of this will be, she doesn't deserve to be treated like this._

_She walked forward meekly. "He will not be affected by the flame."_

_I knew she merely said this, as well as came here, because of her concern for me. She didn't want me to simply sit by and let these people try to kill me. But she also knew that if I did not want to be here right now, I wouldn't be._

_The man holding the torch untied one of my arms free. He held my arm out so the villagers could see as well, and he slowly ran the flame over my arm. I hissed at the painful burning on my arm. The flames licked at my skin mockingly and my arm began to shake. I squinted my eyes open to see the villagers gasping at what they were seeing._

_Though I felt the heat and scorched pain on my arm, nothing appeared to happen to my limb. There was no burn, not even a mark... just pain._

_The man dropped the torch and took a step back from me. "His flesh will not burn." he said with much shock in his voice. "You really are a demon." he said directly to me._

_A different man walked out from the crowd shaking his fist violently towards me. "Of course he does not burn! He is a demon from the fiery pits of Hell!" I stayed where I was, unfazed by his shouting._

_The crowd began to shout out different ways to get rid of me. I ignored them and looked directly at her. She was still standing there, not wanting to move an inch._

_I diverted my eyes and looked back at the man before me. He growled in disdain. "Do not look at me, filthy beast!" He gave me a kick to the ribs, which seemed to hurt him more than me. And even so, I saw her flinch in the corner of my eye. That is why I did not want her here. The two men pulled me to my feet and began to walk me past the villagers who followed not far behind. I gave one last glance at her, one that caused a hurt expression to cross her barely visible features. She nodded and stood still in her spot. She didn't follow me or the villagers, but rather turned the opposite direction and slowly made her way out the village._

_They brought me to a different part of the village. The crowd began cheer for their new plan of execution. The same man held a heavy sword in his hand and pointed the tip at me. "We shall behead the monster!" I didn't bother trying to escape. It wouldn't make a difference, it was too late now. I just sat and waited for the blade._

_I looked up at the sky. Night would be coming soon and depending whether I was still here or not when it does, decides the fate of these people. Maybe I truly wanted these people to die. But as to why, I had no clue. Their fear of me is rational. And yet I stay here when I could leave, creating an avoidable massacre. _

_The sword swung to my neck._

_Maybe I really was a monster. _

I jumped up from seat breathing heavily. The rest of the class looked back at me oddly. "Are you alright Karin?" Mr. Ukitake asked from the front of the room.

I couldn't find myself to answer and I felt wave of nausea hit me full force. Without saying anything I quickly left the classroom and went straight to the girl's bathroom. Once I reached the stall I felt vomit rise up my throat. I puked out the small breakfast I had this morning into the toilet.

What was that? Since we came to this place, I've been getting weird dreams. I didn't think much of the dreams after I got them, but they all seem to be connected. I knew I wasn't myself in them, but I was they same person each time. These weren't normal dreams or normal emotions I felt during them. I wish I knew what was going on. It was so frustrating,

The bathroom door opened and someone walked in. "Karin?" It was Rukia. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I groaned back sarcastically. "I'm great." I stood up from leaning over and flushed the toilet. I walked out the stall and over to the sink where I tried my best to rinse my mouth out from the disgusting taste I now had.

Rukia put her hand on my back. "What happened?"

I wiped the water from my mouth and shook my head. "Nothing. I just fell asleep and had a bad dream."

"Maybe you should go home."

"Bu-"

"Nope." she cut me off. Seems like she was going to go mother hen on me now. "You go home and get some sleep." she said sternly. I just nodded, not wanting to get on Rukia's bad side. I've seen what happens when Ichigo tests her nerves: Not Pretty.

"Good." she said with a satisfied smile.

So I went home early and the second I got there, I went straight to bed. Thankfully I didn't dream.

I woke up around eight in the evening so everyone would be home by now. I went downstairs from my room and grabbed some of the leftovers from the dinner Yuzu made. She was sitting in the living room, watching TV with Dad. When she saw me she quickly got up. "Are you okay Karin? Rukia told me you weren't feeling well and came home early today." she asked with evident concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." I assured her. "How was school?"

She smiled. "It was fine." she then sat back down on the couch to continue watching her show. Only her and Dad ever watched TV together. Everyone else in the house didn't like what the other watched.

Dad also turned to me and shouted joyfully. "Thats my girl! Touch as nails!"

"Yeah, yeah." I was about to walk away when he caught my attention.

"Oh Karin. Rukia has your homework. Shes up in her room." Aw man. I was really hoping there wasn't homework tonight. I knew I shouldn't have signed up for advanced classes.

And by her room that also means Ichigo's room. I visibly shuddered. I walked back upstairs to their room and knocked on the door. I have no intentions on walking in on anything they might be doing what so ever.

Rukia opened the door. "Come in."

I walked in and saw that Ichigo wasn't here. "Wheres Ichigo?"

Her eyebrows furrowed with exasperation. "I don't know. He went to the store but he should have been back a while ago."

Well I felt sorry for Ichigo. Rukia seemed kinda peeved right now. "So... Dad said you got my homework?"

"Yup." she pulled out a book from her book bag. She handed my a large math book. "Right here." I groaned as I looked at the pages that were marked. I was going to be up all night. Rukia smiled sympathetically at me and offered help. "You can stay in here and I'll help you get this done faster."

"Thanks."

After about an hour of working I was done with my homework. Shocked me with as much as I had, but Rukia was really good with math. Math was the one subject that gave me trouble. I honestly think math is probably one of the worst things created by man. Right after coffee. God just thinking about that stuff is making me nauseous, but Rukia drank it all the time. Can't stand the smell of it, let alone the taste.

I was about to leave the room when Rukia stopped me. "Karin, can we talk?"

Should have seen this coming, a stupid lecture about what I can and can't do. Great. But since Rukia did just help me with my homework I suppose I can stay. "I guess." I sat back down on the floor while Rukia was sitting on the bed. I wasn't sitting on that thing after all the things I've heard through these walls.

"I know Ichigo and I have been bugging you a lot about hanging out with Toushiro, but its really for your own good." she stated.

"Then why won't you give me a reason why I shouldn't be around him?"

She looked down. "I'm sorry, I wish I could... but we can't. But we're not trying to be unfair Karin." she defended. "I want you to be able to talk to me."

I didn't reply for a while. I wanted to understand where Rukia was coming from, but I didn't know anything. She spoke again. "Will you at least tell me if anything happens between you two?" Does kissing him count? I rubbed the back of my neck while debating. Rukia isn't as likely to do something as drastic as Ichigo would. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to talk to her. Though I'm not going to just straight out say what happened at the fair or yesterday.

Before I could respond, the door opened. It was Ichigo. His clothes were torn and there were dark stains that looked like blood on his shirt. Both me and Rukia stood to our feet at his sudden entrance. He walked into the room and turned to me. "I need to speak with Rukia alone."

"Hi to you too." I said dryly, not acknowledging what he just told me. "Is that blood?" I asked. Since when does going to the store end up in bloodshed?

"I'm serious Karin." he deadpanned.

I glared at him and grabbed my stuff. "Fine." I walked out the room into the hall. He closed the door behind me and I heard Rukia asking what happened to him. Knowing Ichigo, he probably got into a fight with some other guys. But then again, he wouldn't have made me leave just to tell Rukia that. That means its something they don't want me to know about like why they _can't_ tell me anything.

I put my stuff in my room and tiptoed back to their door. I quietly put my ear up to it like I did last time and listened in. It was still hard to hear but I could make out the words.

"How did you run into them?" Rukia asked. "... wasn't tonight."

Ichigo now spoke. "... wasn't them... something... I don't what those things are... I've never seen them before but..." Their voices were still fading in and out. Geez, I felt like I was missing every word that was explaining what happened.

Rukia spoke a little bit louder, like she was angry. "Well did you... to Urahara? He... know what they were."

"No... he's on vacation or something." Ichigo growled.

"Karin?" Yuzu said from behind, causing me to jump. I quickly stepped away from the door. "What are you doing?"

I subconsciously rubbed the back of my head and chuckled nervously. "Well... you see I was..." Crap, I couldn't think of an excuse.

She looked at me expectingly and placed her hands on her hips. "Well?"

"Um... goodnight!" I ran passed her straight into my room. My genius escape. From the other side of my door I heard Yuzu sigh and her foot steps drifted away.

I sat in my room, thinking, much like the last time I did this about two weeks ago. And here I am, still clueless. Only this time I had even more to think about: Ichigo and Rukia, Toushiro and the Spectacular Six, almost dying _again_, weird dreams, possibly a psychotic girl whose jinxed me, not to mention the soccer game later this week. I sighed and laid on my bed. Something told me school wasn't my biggest annoyance anymore.

* * *

**So there you are. Please tell me what you think. I live off your advice and thoughts on this.**

**_Important: I really want to know what you guess want the werewolves to look like. I've been going back and forth and can't decide! So please, tell me what your preference would be. Thanks!_**

**Thanks for reading! Please review! Luv ya like always!**


	6. Hate the Game

**Hey there everyone! Hope I didn't take too long with this chapter. Glad you've all been liking the story so far and thanks for all the reviews! **

**It took me weeks to actually finish the last few pages because of my terrible mood. Not only did I have to take _three_ finals on my birthday, but I missed the surprise birthday party my friends set up for me because of it! Worst. Birthday. Ever.** **But at least I'm 17 now, which is technically an adult in the state of Michigan ^_^**

**Anyways! Enough of my rambling! Here is chapter 6 of Anathema!**

**Special Thanks to KazeNoSakura for her advice and proofreading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. (And did you guys read that last chapter?! Did _not_ see that coming!)**

* * *

Droplets of sweat began to roll down my face under the overbearing sun. But it didn't bother me. I barely noticed anything other than the field around me. This was it. The score was 4-4 and I had the ball in front of me. The senior was close by, but he wasn't anywhere near fast enough to catch up to me. Those idiots should have known they didn't have a chance of beating me, Karin Kurosaki, in soccer. I'm just that good. We were going to win the match and the field would be ours.

I took the briefest second to look at sidelines. Somehow word got out about the match and a lot of kids from the two high schools were here. Probably just so they can brag their school is better depending on who won. There were even some adults who were just passing by and stopped to watch. My family was also here, which I could do without. I didn't even tell them about the match. And as predicted, Dad was embarrassing me more than usual.

"Go Karin! Beat those boys as if they were your delinquent brother!"

"Hey! What the hell is that suppose to mean?!"

I ignored my family and focused back to the ball and the up coming net. Besides, there was really only one person that I had secretly hoped would come. But I didn't see him.

"Karin! Pay attention!" one of my teammates called. I looked up just in time to see the senior picking up his pace, heading towards me.

I sprinted faster while keeping the ball in my control, now only feet away from the net. With one powerful kick the ball went flying through the air towards the goalie. Everyone was holding their breath. The senior goalie dove for the ball, only to have it graze his finger tips and shoot into the net, giving us our winning goal. The kids from our school – and Goat Chin – began to cheer while the others simply started to leave slightly disappointed.

Oh yeah, I was the shit! The other freshmen began to cheer along with me while the seniors shot their heated glares at us. Like I cared if they were mad, they were getting their asses off our field. The head senior walked up to me with a scowl that could rival Ichigo's.

The freshmen scurried behind me as though I was the shield that would protect them from the wrath of the upperclassman. "We made a deal. We won so we get the field whenever we want." I stated proudly. "So you can leave now."

He gritted his teeth. His friends soon walked up behind him, all standing over us intimidating my team. I sighed. They weren't any help when it came to standing up to anyone. "If you think we're going to leave just because you won a stupid soccer match then you're dumber than I thought." he retorted.

I took a step forward. "A deals a deal. Get lost."

He took a step forward as well. "Make me."

I blinked my eyes in shock when I saw Ichigo standing next to me. Where he came from, I

had no idea but he looked pissed. "Back off." he grounded out darkly. "Are you such a wuss you have to pick fights with a girl?"

I sighed again. I'm starting to suspect _no one _thinks I can take care of myself anymore. Its either Ichigo or Toushiro popping up to save or defend me. It's getting more annoying by the day.

The senior and his friends took a good look at Ichigo and then started to back away. Since we've been in Seireitei, Ichigo had gotten quite the reputation as the guy you don't want to pick a fight with. He gets into a lot of fights because of his hair color.

The senior sneered at me momentarily. "Now you got Kurosaki protecting you? You some kind of tramp?" Ew! What the hell?! Didn't he know Ichigo was my _brother_? That's just wrong. "Kurosaki and Hitsugaya won't always be around and you better watch out when they aren't!" he finished.

Crap, this idiot was totally blowing my cover! He and the rest of the upperclassmen started to leave the field with much of their pride crushed. Ichigo turned to me with his notorious scowl. My team quickly took off, leaving me to deal with my brother. They were scared of everything! I definitely couldn't make a gang with chickens like them.

"You've been hanging out with Toushiro Hitsugaya?" he asked angrily, his fists still clenched.

Have to say, this was getting really old. What made him think I would listen to him anyway? I clearly expressed that I was going to do whatever I want with whoever I want... I probably shouldn't say that out loud seeing as it's impossible for that to come out right. I glared at Ichigo and then decided to try a different approach than what I've been doing these past two months. "Yes, I have. And until I get a reason why I shouldn't, I will continue to hangout with him." I declared sternly. "You say it's for my own good but I don't see how if he's the one who keeps saving my ass every five minutes."

Ichigo looked confused at that last part and I remembered I hadn't told him about half the things that went on between me and Toushiro. The pool, the fair, and various other encounters. Oh well. I wasn't going to get into that at the moment.

Rukia walked over with a cautious expression and spoke lowly. I almost missed what she was saying. "Ichigo, she doesn't understand the situation. Maybe we should just tell her?"

Yes! Tell me! Please tell me what's going on so I can stop feeling like the family idiot!

Ichigo looked from Rukia to me. He seemed to be considering it which was a big difference than usual. Normally he would just ignore whatever my response was. He thought for a few seconds, contemplating on what he was going to do. I wanted to say something but couldn't. I was afraid I would mess up my chance of getting any clarity on the subject that always escaped my grasp. Ichigo looked as though he was about to speak when Dad literally came out of nowhere and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was only a second, but I knew it was something that held many words. He gave Ichigo a stern look as if warning him of something and then walked away without even sparing me a glance. Ichigo looked back to me, sighed, and walked away. "Never mind."

Dammit all to freaking hell!

That did not just happen. Please tell me that didn't just happen. I was utterly silenced by my rage, not even able to form words to respond to that. I just stared in a mixture of defeat, anger, and confusion. He was so close to telling me and then Dad comes along and completely intervenes. Not only were Ichigo and Rukia hiding something, but it looked like Dad was in on it too! It was obvious he was warning Ichigo not to say anything to me about whatever the hell they know that I don't. That makes me and Yuzu the only ones who know next to nothing.

Unless Yuzu knows something and isn't telling me. She doesn't know, right?

Ichigo and the others began to walk away from the now abandoned soccer field. I reluctantly began to follow the source of my frustration. My head was turned down and I didn't bother saying anything to Ichigo, Rukia, or Dad. A bunch of jerks who liked watching me squirm. Why wouldn't they just tell me something if they could see I knew something was up? They were the ones making this more complicated than what it needed to be.

While dragging my feet something white caught my attention out the corner of my eye. "I'll see you guys at home." I called to the others in front of me already heading home. I turned away and dashed to the other side of the field, waiting for them to leave the area.

Leaning against the side of the fence that circled the soccer field was Toushiro. Apparently he had seen what just happened because he looked quite amused. "What are you doing here?" I asked when I reached him.

"I just wanted to see your match." he said offhandedly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when would you take your precious time out the day to watch a soccer match? I'm sure someone like you has more important things to do."

"Right, your soccer match isn't important in the least when it comes to me." I felt my eye twitch. "But I have a lot of free time, so I figured I'd come and watch."

"How generous of you." I replied, my words coated in sarcasm. His eyes were scanning the area intensely as if he was looking for someone. "What's wrong?"

He snapped his eyes to me. "Nothing."

I placed my hands on my hips. "Are you going to answer my questions yet?" I had almost forgotten about the deal me and Toushiro made, but Ichigo's little irritation had me thinking about it.

Toushiro hesitated for a moment. "No." he said blandly.

"Fine." I said angrily as I glared at him and turned around to walk away. He grabbed my wrist to stop me from leaving.

"Not yet." he said, almost looking guilty. Dammit, now he was making me feel guilty for being impatient. This is so backwards.

He must have noticed my reaction because he then smirked at me. "What's with the pout?" he jeered while leaning closer to me. "It's kind of cute on you." he said softly, his lips almost touching mine. I could feel his soothing cool breath on my skin.

Without warning he abruptly pulled away and dropped my wrist like it was on fire. He stiffly turned around as if he was scared something was behind him ready to attack. I looked past him and not a second later Hinamori came walking around the corner across the street and headed straight to us. That was close. It was strange though, like Toushiro knew she was coming or something.

She walked over to us eying me warily but not angrily as she usually did. In fact, she seemed kind of distracted like Toushiro was.

"What is it Momo?" he asked with a tinge of concern. Did something happen that I didn't know about? They were acting weird.

She didn't reply, but stared at him for awhile. She looked like she wanted to yell at him but was completely silent. I found the silence uncomfortable and odd. They were just staring at each other without saying anything. Somehow _I_ became the third wheel.

"Alright then." Toushiro finally said. I wasn't sure who he was saying that to though, no one had said anything. He turned to me and apologized. "Sorry, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, okay." I said awkwardly. Not much I could say at this point.

He began to walk in the direction of where Hinamori had just come from. She glanced at me once more, but her expression was blank. She had stopped giving me glares for the past few days but I didn't know why. We never talked or settled our differences. Maybe this was her way of making a truce? She turned around and followed Toushiro back around the corner and out of view.

I sighed and started to walk my way home. Lately my days had been such a pain in the ass. It's like my life had become a huge game of 'Confuse the hell out of Karin' and everyone wanted to play. Of course I wasn't even a player in this game. No, I was the little plastic piece that sat in the middle of the board, going to whoever won. And just like a board game, everything seemed to keep going in circles around me.

The street was oddly empty for how early it was. It wasn't even dark out yet. I was walking sluggishly until I saw a black cat sitting in the middle of the sidewalk up ahead. It was odd that it didn't bother running off as I got near it. I couldn't help but stop in front of the fearless feline. I saw something shine in its mouth for a brief second and noticed a black and white key chain attached to the object. Funny, it kind of looked like my soccer key chain that was on my house key...

My eyes widened and I felt my pocket. Empty.

The cat stole my keys!

I carefully walked closer to the black cat. "Here kitty." I tried to coax it. "Come to Karin."

The cat stayed unmoving, but somehow I got the feeling it was looking at me like I was stupid. "Come here, I won't hurt you." I continued. It then stood up and began to lightly run away. "No! You stupid furball!" I yelled after it.

Once it was across the street it stopped and looked back at me. Did it hear me or something? Freaky. I started to jog over to the cat and it began to run away again. This was why I was a dog person. When it got too far ahead of me, it stopped again and waited for me to catch up. I wonder if I should really be following an animal around town? And more importantly one that is suspiciously smart and appears to _want_ me to follow it. If the damned thing didn't have my key, I wouldn't have even bothered to give it a second glance.

I was glad no one else was around. That way no one would see me strangle that thing's neck – again, not a cat person – once I caught up to it got my keys back. It finally stopped again, in front of a small candy store. It sat waiting for me to come close like it did before, but instead of running off once I got near like last time, it went into the store's open door. Well at least I could corner it in the store.

I walked in and noticed that might be easier said than done. There were no lights in the store and the only reason anything was visible was the diminishing sunlight from outside. I walked around looking for the black cat when a voice called my attention.

"May I help you?" a bored voice asked. It was a man wearing an ugly white and green striped hat. He was also wearing some old green robe-thing and clogs. Someone needs to get with the times.

"Have you seen a black cat around here?" I asked.

The man looked as if he was trying to remember something from years ago. The cat ran in here just a few seconds ago, if he didn't see it then he just needs to say so. He then pulled a fan out of thin air and covered the lower half of his face with it when he spoke again. "Why yes actually, the black cat is a friend of mine." Yeah, I think I should probably leave now. "I asked it to bring you here." I wonder if I could make it to the door if I run.

I looked over to the door to see if I had any chance of escaping. "Oh don't be nervous." he said. "I just wanted to meet Ichigo's younger sister. You are the one who is involved with Toushiro Hitsugaya, am I right?"

Involved? As if I knew what to call it. I glared at him and spoke carefully. "What do you know about Ichigo and Toushiro?"

"A lot more than you." he said seriously. "It's quite dangerous to be around Toushiro and his friends... but it appears it's far too late to do anything about it."

Do what about what? Looks like this guy is a new player to the game, and he's catching up to Ichigo and Toushiro who are currently tied for the lead.

The black cat walked from behind the counter with my keys still in its mouth. It dropped the keys on the floor and left to the back of the shop. I quickly grabbed my keys and headed for the door. I was getting out of this place before I get my head chopped off or something equally unpleasant.

The shop keeper chimed his last words right before I walked through the door. "See you soon."

Yeah right. I wasn't coming back here again. Ever.

The next day I ended up sleeping in way longer than what I had planned. But it didn't bother me, it was a Saturday after all. I walked downstairs where everyone else was. Ichigo and Dad were fighting over the remote control while Rukia was reading and Yuzu was attempting to watch the TV even though the channels kept changing.

I walked to the guys, punched Goat Chin in the face, kicked Ichigo in the shin and took the remote. "Here you go Yuzu." I tossed it to her.

"Thanks. How did you sleep last night?" she asked while turning the channel to a cooking show.

"Great." I said while plopping down next to her. By 'great' I meant I didn't have any weird dream last night. I've come to suspect they are all connected, and are all of the same person who I don't think is supposed to be me. But that's all I could really tell from the dreams. That, and that they all seem to be taking place a really long time ago. I still don't know what they're about because of how hard it was to remember them after I woke up. I don't think they're normal dreams though, but then again, I know nothing about what a normal dream should be.

"Do you know any bookstores around here?" I asked whoever was listening. Yuzu shook her head but Rukia looked up from her book.

She thought for a moment. "I know a place that has all kinds of books, but it's not really a bookstore." she said. "It's the candy stop near the soccer field."

I looked at her incredulously. "Are you talking about the place with that weirdo in the ugly hat and clogs?"

Rukia, Ichigo and even Dad looked at me with shock. "You know Urahara?" Ichigo asked.

Urahara. That was the name Rukia had used when Ichigo came back with blood all over his shirt. He said something about Urahara being on vacation. I guess he was back now. This would explain how the guy knew Ichigo though, and I think it's safe to say he is somehow wrapped up in what's going on with Toushiro and Ichigo.

"No, not really. I just stepped inside his store for a few minutes."

Ichigo studied my words cautiously. "Did he say anything to you?"

"No." I decided I wouldn't mention anything he said. Their reactions were enough confirmation that this Urahara guy was a part of something that they didn't want me to know about. If they were going to keep secrets from me, then I was going to do the same.

After a while I went out to look for some books. More specifically books that had any kind of information on dreams and stuff like that. I don't really believe in that kind of stuff, but it was worth a look. I ended up just going to the library across town seeing as I had no plans to go back to the crazy candy shop. Freaks in clogs and klepto black cats weren't my thing.

After a few hours of looking through Seireitei's giant ass library, I found only two books that were about dream interpretation or _Oneirology_ as the stuffy librarian had called it. I didn't care what it was called as long as it could help.

I was walking home for quite awhile because of how far away the library was from the house. But the whole time I was walking, I kept getting the feeling someone was following. I was only half way home but at least it was still light out. This past week, the news has been saying that people shouldn't be out after dark by themselves. People have been getting attacked while walking outside at night, but none of them could remember what it was that attacked them. They didn't even know if it was an animal or a person.

The streets were empty again like they were yesterday. Karakura always had people walking around no matter what time it was, but here all the people drove everywhere they went. Like it would kill them to walk every once in a while.

By now I was off the streets and walking through the sidewalks between the houses. Now I was positive that someone or something was following me. There was a light stepping sound a few feet behind me. Every time I looked back, there was nothing there and the sound momentarily stopped until I turned around again. My eyes swept the area for something I could use as a weapon. This thing obviously didn't know who it was messing with.

Near the corner of the sidewalk was a tall brick wall that looked like it was still being worked on. I smiled as an idea came to mind. I hastened my pace and hurriedly turned the corner. I set my books down and grabbed one of the bricks that had yet to be added to the wall. I waited against the wall for my pursuer to show itself. The footsteps sped up and grew louder and closer. I held the brick up over my head and readied myself.

I was suddenly blinded by a bright light and I instinctively threw the brick as hard as I could towards the source of the light. I heard it make contact with something.

"Goddammit! What the hell?!" I heard a guy yell. I blinked a few times and focused on who I just hit. It was Ikkaku Madarame. Well I guess the sun reflecting off his head explained the light.

"Smooth." came a mocking voice. Yumichika Ayasegawa walked into view behind Ikkaku.

What were two of the Spectacular Six doing following me? I looked at Ikkaku with shock. He straightened up without even a stumble as if I didn't just hit him over the head with a freaking brick! He moved his hand from his head to reveal not so much as a scratch. The brick that was now on the ground was broken completely in half. How in the fu-

"What's your problem?! Who throws bricks at people's head?!" Ikkaku yelled at me angrily.

Yumichika snickered a remark. "Too bad you had no hair to cushion the blow."

Ikkaku continued to glare at me waiting for my reply. "Well?"

"Me?" I asked offended. "You were the ones following me like some creepers! Who the hell goes around following 15 year old girls and has the nerve to get mad when you get hit for it!"

"She has a point." Yumichika directed at Ikkaku.

Ikkaku grunted. "She's still crazy."

"Drop dead." I retorted and walked away without looking back at them, not even caring to hear their reason for stalking me around town. It's a good thing no one from school saw that. I would've been condemned for talking to anyone from the S.S. like that, not just Toushiro.

They didn't follow me for the rest of the evening after that. I got home right when the street lights were coming on. I walked into the house tired and ready for some dinner. "Hey Karin." Ichigo greeted while he walked down from upstairs. He was oddly cheery. Rukia followed behind him with her hair a little messed up and looking as happy as him...

Oh God! I could have went through the whole day without knowing that! I need brain bleach!

"So did you get any books from the library?" Rukia asked.

My eyes widened. "Crap!" I turned around about to run out the front door.

"Hold on." Ichigo stopped me. "What are you doing?"

"I left my books on the sidewalk when I found Ikkaku and Yumichika following..." I stopped when my brain caught up with the words I was saying.

Ichigo looked at me with a mix of anger and concern. "They were following you?"

"Uh..." Nice Karin, why don't you just tell him when you're on your next period while you're at it. I took a step towards the door. "I have to get the books."

"You're not going back outside, its already dark out." he said calming himself down.

I looked out the window and he was right. It was too dark for me to be walking across town looking for some books in the dark. I let out a huge sigh. I was going to have to pay for those.

_Despite my heavy breathing, I could hear every little thing around me. Every single twig snap, every flutter of the birds' wings flapping, and every footstep the men who followed not far behind me took. I'd run for hours, losing some of them, only to have more catch my trail. It was bothersome but even more dangerous. Over the years, these men have been gathering together and plotting ways they could 'destroy the indestructible' so they could feel safe at night. A child's dream._

_And yet now it seems much more reachable. They have discovered not only ways to harm us, but ways to kill us. _

_Even after the hours of running I only now began to feel the fatigue in my legs. I stopped to rest with my back against a large tree. Blood had stained my shirt and was still seeping through. I put my hand to my side and slowly pulled out a thin wooden arrow. Normally it wouldn't have been able to penetrate my skin was it not for the pure silver that was attached to the head of the arrow. I was feeling incredibly lightheaded and weak, something that was foreign to me. It was a result of the silver._

_The footsteps continued to get closer and closer and I felt a slight hopelessness. I looked up to the sky, and though there was a moon out it was far from full. But I knew I couldn't give up. Not yet. Not when I had the others to think about. I hadn't seen them in years, having left them under the notion that I would be able to help them quicker. In turn it had the opposite outcome._

_I forced myself off the tree just in time to see the three men approach me, all armed with crossbows. One took in my appearance and scoffed in disappointment. "This is the beast we have been called on to exterminate?"_

"_More like an infant beast." said another._

_The anger began build up inside me, but I stayed still. There wasn't much I could do in the situation I was in. So I remained calm and silent. The breeze briefly picked up and in it was a familiar scent. I couldn't contain my joy and let a small smile appear on my face. They were here._

"Karin." a voice interrupted my dreaming, making me jump. It was Yuzu waking me up. I looked around for a second, only to remember I was in the car with Dad, Yuzu, and Rukia. We were driving back from a family picnic that Dad forced us to go on. I still don't know how Ichigo was able to convince Dad not to make him go.

I adjusted myself in my seat and yawned with annoyance. I had another one of those weird dreams, but this time I didn't get to finish it. For some reason, that bugged me more than just seeing the whole thing. But I guess it doesn't really matter, it's not like I know what the hell these dreams are about anyway.

"You fell asleep." Yuzu informed me.

"Did I really?" I asked with much sarcasm. She just rolled her eyes and turned away. I looked to Rukia who was in the passenger seat and whispered to her. "How did Ichigo get out of the picnic?"

Rukia just shrugged. "I'm not sure. He didn't tell me anything."

Dad had heard what we said. "Don't worry!" he shouted unnecessarily loud. "He won't get away next time!"

It was starting to get dark out. The sky was turning from orange to a purplish blue and a faded crescent moon was becoming visible. We were just now returning from the stupid family picnic because of how long it took us to drag Goat Chin out the park. He was such a man-child sometimes.

The car was stuck in a long traffic line that I assumed was probably caused by an accident somewhere. We weren't quite under a road bridge that was about 10 feet above us but it looked like there was even a lot of traffic up there too. I laid my head back against the seat. I just wanted to get home so I could have a peaceful and hopefully dreamless sleep.

Suddenly there was a loud thud on the roof of our car. Everyone looked up at the large dent that was just over our heads. "What was that?" Yuzu asked nervously.

Whatever fell on the roof started to move. It jumped off the car and without slowing down for a second it ran into the woods near the road. And in those two seconds I saw who it was.

"Dammit." Rukia cursed. "What's he thinking?"

Well I wasn't going to just sit here. I opened the car door and hopped out before pausing for a moment, confirming if I was going to go follow him. "Karin! Get back here now." Dad called to me. Had it been at another moment, his serious tone would have stopped me dead in my tracks.

I ran into the woods without a second thought. There were a bunch of questions circling my mind. All about him. I didn't know what it was, but I had a sick feeling in my stomach that something was terribly wrong.

And there he was. He was standing in a clearing, holding his left arm. I walked out from the trees towards him and he spun around. He looked shocked to see me and his eyes showed relief and fear at the same time.

"Toushiro, are you alright?" I asked as paced over to him. His breathing was very uneven and he looked pale. I then noticed the hand that was covering his left arm was bloody. There was blood all over his shirt and hands.

"What are you doing here?" he asked somewhat harshly.

"What happened?! Are you alright?" I panicked. He was bleeding from his arm and yet he was asking me stupid questions.

He seemed more frustrated that I was here and ignored me. I couldn't tell what happened to his arm but it was bleeding like crazy. He tore his sleeve off and inspected his arm. It was then I saw what happened to his arm. "Y-you were shot?!" I asked, my voice shaking. He didn't answer. "Toushiro, why would..." I couldn't find my words. Who would shoot him? What was going on?

"Karin, calm down." he told me more softly. He put his fingers in his wound and I cringed at the sight. He cursed under his breath but continued and then pulled out the bullet. When I saw the bullet though, it wasn't a normal lead one. It looked like it was silver or something.

His arm was still bleeding but it seemed to slow down. I picked up the cloth of his sleeve that he had tossed aside. "Let me see your arm." I told him, starting to regain my composure.

He looked at me hesitantly and didn't move. Did he think I would faint from seeing it or something? "I'm a nurse, remember? Let me see your arm." I repeated a little angry. He still didn't move so I grabbed his arm. But when I looked at it, the bleeding had completely stopped and the hole looked smaller. "How...?"

He pulled his arm away and looked at me seriously. "You need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you alone out here. You need to get your arm checked out." I told him sternly. "You can come to my dad's clinic." I offered.

"I'm fine." he assured me, while looking up at the purple sky.

I had to admit, he was looking better than just a few seconds ago. But I wasn't going to budge until I could be sure he was alright. And not only that, but how this all happened. I placed my hand on him, as though I was afraid he would just take off. "What happened?"

But instead of an answer, Toushiro pushed me behind him and stood facing the trees. I looked over his shoulder and I couldn't believe what I saw. Ichigo came from behind the trees with a large hand gun in his right hand. He was a few yards away from us but from where I stood, I could see the anger in his eyes.

"Get away from my sister!" he shouted. I heard a low growl that sounded like it came from Toushiro. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought that it came from a dog.

I stepped from behind Toushiro. "Ichigo what are you doing?! Did you _shoot_him?" I asked in disbelief. I couldn't imagine Ichigo, my big brother, doing something like that.

He had his gun aimed right at Toushiro but was looking at me sadly. "Karin, get over here. You don't understand what's going on." he claimed.

I quickly stood in front of Toushiro, blocking him from Ichigo's aim. "Karin." Toushiro hissed. "Don't." I ignored him, Ichigo wouldn't shoot with me so close.

Sure enough, Ichigo quickly dropped his aim from our direction. It appeared he figured I wasn't going to listen to him so he directed his next words to Toushiro. "Why are you putting her through this? You knew what I was, right?"

Toushiro's voice was low and far darker than I've ever heard it before. "Eventually, but it was already too late when I figured it out."

What they were saying was confusing. What was Ichigo? I could only think of so many things connecting to how he got a gun, especially since they were illegal in Japan. And what did all of this have to do with Toushiro? Clearly this wasn't because I was hanging out with him.

"I don't get why you and your friends try to blend in." Ichigo said. "Is it because you're planning something?"

"What I do doesn't concern you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows even more. "Unfortunately for you, it does. It's my job to get rid of monsters like you. After I'm done with you, the rest of your friends are next." he then smiled a little, but it wasn't a content one. It was the kind of smile you gave when you were upset but didn't want anyone to know. "I do feel kind of bad though, I've never had to kill one as young as you."

"Ichigo, what are you talking about?" I called, having heard enough. "Do you hear yourself right now?! You're talking about killing people!"

"Stay out of this Karin." he told me, still not raising his voice at me like he was afraid it would hurt me.

Toushiro grabbed my shoulder and moved me to the side. Ichigo tensed but didn't yet raise his gun. "And what of you, Ichigo Kurosaki? Do you not think you're putting your family in danger with your occupation?" he asked, using what sounded like an older dialect.

"I keep them safe by wiping out your kind." he said while raising his gun to Toushiro. Toushiro gave me a look that told me not to get near him. His eyes were cold and I couldn't help the fear I felt that came with them.

I was standing in the middle of what had been bothering me these past few months and yet still knew nothing about what they were saying. If anything I was more confused than before. I wanted to say something, but couldn't. What could I say that would make them stop?

Toushiro sighed like he was bored with the situation. "As skilled as you are at such a young age, you are far over your head."

Ichigo scoffed. "And what makes you say that? You have no chance of getting away – tonight's not a full moon."

Full moon? What were they talking about? I looked at Toushiro who chuckled darkly. "There is still much a naïve child such as you has to learn."

He quickly backed away from me but didn't bother running away. Ichigo looked at him in confusion but kept his gun steady at Toushiro who was now standing far from both of us. I could only guess that Ichigo hadn't tried to shoot him yet because I was here. Toushiro kept his eyes locked with mine, and they looked deeply sad, regretful. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What I saw next changed everything I thought I knew about reality.

Toushiro began to change. White fur spread across his skin and his nails and teeth grew long and pointed. His body grew bigger and fell forward to land on paw rather than hands. It was happening in only seconds and yet it seemed so much longer. His clothes were ripped from his body and there was no longer a boy standing there, but a large animal.

He looked just like a wolf, but much bigger, about the size of a horse. Snow white fur covered his body and he had a long tail traveling behind him. There wasn't a single spot on him that wasn't pure white. But his eyes remained the same luring teal they had been before. He stood rigidly still, his chest heaving, legs deeply grounded with his claws digging into the soil, his ears were set back and his teeth showed as he was growled lowly at Ichigo. I was frozen to where I was standing with my mouth agape and eyes wide.

Ichigo looked shocked, but not as shocked as me. His face turned to one of anger and he glared. He aimed his gun at Toushiro – or at least who I thought was still Toushiro – ready to shoot him. But instead, the wolf ran at Ichigo too fast for him to react and jumped high over his head. He didn't stop and kept running, disappearing into the woods without looking back. In just seconds it was as if he was never here.

My eyes stayed glued to where he had just vanished. I was forgetting to breathe and my legs were suddenly weak, unable to hold me up. After just seeing something I thought I'd never see, I did something I thought I'd never do. I fainted.

* * *

**I know! That was a cruel cliffhanger, but I love them so. I would end every chapter with a cliffy if I could.**

**Most of you guys wanted the large quadruped, so here you go. Hope its what you guys pictured. The next chapter will have more HitsuKarin interaction in it, I promise!**

**_Hope you guys liked this chapter! Tell me what you think! Luv ya!_**


	7. The Works of Life

**Hey there you wonderful people! So sorry that I couldn't get this up sooner like I promised. Epic Fail. This chapter was a bitch to do and I'd rather make you wait for a good chapter than quickly toss you a crappy one. Hope you understand. I'd like to thank you all for your reviews and support, and the occassional person who yells at me for not updating fast enough lol.**

_**Super-Ultra-Mega-Ginormous Thanks to KazeNoSakura! If it weren't for her, this chapter still wouldn't be anywhere close to done and up! She has given me wonderful advice, ideas, and helped correct my horrid grammar. A true friend. Be Grateful She Is Around!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

The foul smell of coffee entered my nose, disturbing my focus. Who would be making coffee anyway? It was a disgusting thing to drink and even the smell of it made me nauseous. I couldn't think straight with it stinking up the air. It was most likely Rukia who was making it, while her, Ichigo, and Dad were probably talking about what they should tell me.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my head. I had such a headache. No doubt a result of what I just saw a few hours ago. That or I hit my head when I passed out. I still couldn't believe it! How could I have done such a stupid, sissy, girly thing like fainting? Fainting was not something I did. I didn't cook, I didn't wear dresses or skirts, I never cried, and I most definitely didn't faint.

I resisted screaming out in frustration. Of course fainting shouldn't be my main focus at the moment. Looking back, everything that had happened in the past two months seemed like a long dream. The Spectacular Six, the pool party, the fair, everything. Everything that had to do with _him_. I pressed my hand to my face. God, I felt miserable. Just thinking about him made me want to scream and pull my hair out. My head was pounding, my back ached, my legs were numb, my stomach churned, and my lungs felt constricted. All because of _him_.

When I woke up not even five minutes ago, I almost thought it was just another dream. Things like this just didn't happen. This was real life, not some book or movie where the girl falls for the teenage supernatural.

But it happened.

Toushiro turned into a giant wolf.

I fell back onto my bed. Maybe I should have known all along. Not necessarily that he was a wolf, but that something was seriously off. With all these secrets and mysterious happenings going around, I should have expected something. For as long as I'd been trying to get an understanding of him, I should have been prepared for something big. But I never would have been prepared for something _this_ big.

Still, now that I knew I couldn't help but feel how obvious it was. And if Toushiro could turn into a huge wolf, it was safe to say that Hinamori, Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika could too. Why else would they all be together so much? It explained why they were all so good at sports. Why they stayed in their own little pack. Why those five seniors were scared of someone as small as Toushiro. How he was fine after he fell from the rope climb. How Ikkaku didn't have a scratch on him after I hit him in the _head_ with a _brick_.

One question was just eating away at me though. How? How was any of this possible? Just because I saw it with my own eyes didn't explain or resolve what happened.

My bedroom door slowly opened. Rukia walked in and looked at me sympathetically. I noticed she'd been giving me that look a lot since I started hanging out with Toushiro. She obviously saw this coming, and yet neither her nor Ichigo bothered to tell me about this. They simply ordered me around, expecting me to follow like some trained puppy. That thought just made me angrier because I could have avoided this mess if they had explained.

"Karin, how are you feeling?" she asked.

I glared at her and stood up. "Like shit." I deadpanned. "Please leave."

She sighed and quietly left, closing the door behind her. I quickly slipped my shoes on and headed to the window. I was going to get my answers from someone who hadn't bothered lying to me yet. Ichigo would probably answer my questions now, but I was too angry at him to even consider that right now.

Just as I opened the window, the door opened again. I froze. "Karin? What are you doing?"

I turned to Yuzu who was looking at me incredulously. "I need to talk to someone, so I'm going out." I didn't bother lying to her for two reasons: 1. I suck at lying and 2. even if by some miracle I did come up with a good lie, she'd _still_ know I was lying.

Yuzu pouted and walked up to me. "But you fainted. You shouldn't be leaving the house."

"I didn't faint! I... just passed out." I defended to which she raised an eyebrow at me. "There's a difference."

"That doesn't matter, you still shouldn't be leaving the house." she insisted.

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "I'll be right back okay?" Whether she agreed or not wouldn't keep me from going. The moment she left I was going to leave.

She gave a sigh of resignation. "Fine. But if you're not back soon, I'm telling Dad, okay?"

I smiled at my twin. I could always count on her, or at this point only her. "Thanks Yuzu, you're the best."

Quietly, I climbed out the window and onto the garage roof next to it. From there I jumped down and took off running, not bothering to waste any time. Even if Yuzu didn't say anything, Dad and the others would notice I was gone pretty soon. The fact that Yuzu let me leave without much trouble meant she still didn't know anything about Ichigo or Toushiro. I wonder if I should tell her.

It didn't take me long before I reached my destination. The door had a 'closed' sign on it but when I pushed the door, it flew wide open. I cautiously stepped in, trying my best to keep quiet. But of course that attempt was failing due to the incredibly loud, creaking floors.

"Sorry, but since it appears you can't read, we're closed." a male voice said as a light flickered on. The only other person in the room was a cat. The same stupid black cat that stole my keys a few days ago. But the cat didn't just talk... right?

The familiar sound of clogs on wood entered my ears and the blonde man walked in from the back. I couldn't see his eyes due to his tacky stripped hat but he seemed to be smiling. "Well well, Miss Kurosaki, what a surprise." he said in the same lazy but goofy voice. "But not really. After what happened with Toushiro earlier today, I assumed you would be paying me a visit."

"How'd you know what happened?" I asked suspiciously. He was kind of shady and I still didn't really trust him too much. He gestured his hand to the black cat sitting on the counter. I raised an eyebrow at him. That cat told him? I wasn't even going to bother asking him about that. "It's Urahara, right?" He nodded. "So if you were expecting me, then you'll answer my questions."

He cocked his head to the side. "Just because I knew you would come doesn't mean I'm willing to tell you anything."

He was talking in circles. I didn't have time for his stupid games and I could see what he was trying to do. I put my hands on my hips. "Quit stalling. Either answer my questions now or I'm leaving."

Urahara sighed. "Then I guess I don't have a choice." He turned around and started to walk to the back of the store, behind the counter. I followed behind him while the cat dashed out the front door. He sat on a cushion behind a low standing table and gestured for me to do the same.

I sat on a cushion on the other side of the table, across from him. I felt a little anxious about having someone I barely knew answer my questions. I asked the first thing I wanted to know. "What is Toushiro?"

He fanned himself with his paper fan. "Why not ask about your brother first? Surely he's more important to you?"

"Does it really matter where I start my questions?" I asked impatiently. He was trying to buy time for something, I just didn't know what that was yet.

He gave me a grin that really pissed me off. "No, but its all connected. I think it would work better if-"

"Okay whatever! I'll start with Ichigo!" I cut him off. I took a second to calm down, and think of my first question. I looked up at Urahara seriously. "If Ichigo and Rukia knew so much about Toushiro, why didn't they tell me about him? If they really wanted me to stay away from him, why didn't they just tell me the truth?"

"Because they couldn't." he said in a voice that I couldn't read. He still had his humorous tone, but it sounded a lot more grim. He sighed deeply. "No one is supposed to know about the existence of things like werewolves. Ichigo and Rukia were simply following orders."

Werewolves…really? It just didn't seem possible. After all, how could people go through their whole lives without ever knowing something like that was real? Sane people never believed weird myths about them. You never saw any proof of them in reliable newspapers or magazines. Were things like that covered up by people who knew? Or like Urahara just said, those who knew couldn't say anything. Or maybe people were just in denial, not wanting to believe the stories they heard about werewolves. Either way, the thought of something like werewolves just seemed too unbelievable. But I guess I had to believe it because that was what Toushiro was.

"Orders from you?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, not me." His gaze traveled around the room briefly then rested on me. "They work for an organization. A group of hunters." I felt my back tense. "Its their job to protect people by killing werewolves."

"But that doesn't mean Toushiro and the others are hurting anyone. They wouldn't kill people." I defended, finding myself trying to protect them. I didn't know why though. I honestly didn't know what to think about Toushiro and the others, but I was still going to stick by the little I knew about them. They didn't seem like killers.

Urahara closed his fan. "It's not what you think, it doesn't work like that. Werewolves can't control their actions."

It was so odd to hear someone talking about werewolves of all subjects. It just didn't sound right. It greatly contrasted with the serious tone at the moment and I don't think I'll get used to it anytime soon.

I waited for him to continue. "Werewolves stay human until a full moon when they change into what you saw earlier. But unfortunately, once they change, they aren't themselves anymore and they kill whoever and whatever crosses their path whether they want to or not." he drawled. It was almost disturbing to hear him say this so casually.

"So they kill someone who can't control themselves?!" I yelled. He had to be making this up. Ichigo and Rukia wouldn't kill those people, they couldn't do something like that.

"They don't have a choice either. If they just left werewolves alone then there would no longer be a balance and humans would go extinct." he said calmly from his seat.

"Balance?" I asked.

He sighed, as if trying to delay his answer, even for just a second. He spoke with a low tone. "When someone transforms into a werewolf on a full moon, they instinctively go out to hunt. That's obviously a problem when the person who changed lives in a city or town with other people." he explained slowly. Normally that would've bugged me, but right now I didn't mind. I was grateful for his slow pace as I was having a hard time taking everything in. "This results in people being killed, or if they survive the attack, becoming werewolves themselves."

I looked down at the wooden table. What Ichigo and Rukia – possibly even Dad – were doing seemed to make sense, but that didn't make it seem any less wrong. I understood what Urahara was telling me, but no matter the circumstances, Ichigo and Rukia killed people. Even if they didn't have much of a choice, it didn't make me feel any better. And then there was Toushiro. If what I was hearing was true, then it was more than likely he had done the same.

"Karin." I heard a new voice say from behind. I turned around to see Ichigo looking at me. He looked upset, probably for more than one reason.

I glared at him. "How'd you know I was here?" I guess I was more predictable than I thought if he figured I was at the haunted candy shop so fast.

He shrugged. "The cat told me." Was that some kind of inside joke? "Look Karin, I'm sorry about all this. I didn't want you involved in what me and Rukia do, but you need to listen to what I tell you."

"You hardly told me anything. You can't expect me to do something just because you say it." I knew he was looking out for me, but that didn't mean I was in the wrong for not listening to him.

He narrowed his eyes. "Because that's worked out for you so well, right?" There was bitterness in his words, but I couldn't figure out why he was so angry.

"You're acting like it's a surprise I didn't listen to you." I retorted. "Toushiro was the first guy I ever liked, and out of nowhere you start telling me to stay away from him. Did you really think I would listen?"

Ichigo was getting more worked with each word I threw at him. Good. I wanted him to know how I felt. "You have to grow up Karin. You can't be a child and do what you want just because you feel like it."

"Then stop treating me like a child and think you don't owe me an explanation when you try to order me around!" I was standing before I realized it, breathing hard and heavy. Ichigo was still but looked ready to explode any second. His body was rigid, brow furrowed and mouth set in a tight line.

"What would you have done if he did tell you?" Urahara said, causing me to jump. I had forgotten he was even here. He looked at me curiously. "Well?"

I cooled down momentarily, caught off guard by his question that seemed so obvious. I didn't know why I hadn't asked myself that yet. If I had truly known what Toushiro was, what would I have done? I thought silently about the past few months. A lot – if not most – of it involved Toushiro. I couldn't lie and say I didn't like him, because I did, but I could say I see him differently now. "I don't know..."

Urahara grinned again. "Well it's getting late. How about you two head home and come back tomorrow. I can clear everything up then, once you've talked."

Not much later, Ichigo and I were walking down the street in a wordless atmosphere. He was still really upset, but so was I. There was still that constricting feeling on my lungs, pulling me back and forth. It was as if there was some unexplainable force that was pushing me to pick sides, to decide who the killers really were. I dragged my feet and let out an aggravated sigh. Might as well get this over with.

"Ichigo." He kept his pace up but gave me a glance in response. "What are you planning to do now?" I asked him seriously.

He stopped abruptly and turned to me. He seemed cautious but spoke anyway. "About what?"

"Toushiro and the oth-"

"Jeez Karin!" he growled while putting his hand up to his forehead. "You want me to let them run around, free to kill innocent people just so you can have your boyfriend?" he stepped towards me, further emphasizing his point. "Or better yet, let them kill you? You need to forget about them. You know what they are and you know what they can do."

I narrowed my eyes at him. The more he spoke, the more his words seemed to make sense. I wanted to keep my opinion fair and see both sides, but it was hard when you consider that werewolves hurt people while the hunters protect them. He was right, no one should sit back and let people be killed... but did that make Toushiro and the others killers? Did that mean they had to be killed?

He started walking again. "Don't be so naïve about things. You may know more about whats going on, but that doesn't mean you know everything. Making stupid decisions will get you killed."

"You're one to talk!" I quickened my pace to keep up. "What about when you used to come home all torn up when we were still in Karakura Town? Three or four years ago, that's when you became a hunter, right? You're saying putting your life in danger to fight those things isn't stupid?"

He didn't respond and kept walking. I jogged past Ichigo and stopped in front of him. I wasn't letting him constantly drop my questions. "And just because you're a hunter, that doesn't give you the right to just kill them. Aren't werewolves people too?" I felt my words wavering towards the end. I honestly didn't know the answer to my own question.

"Don't try to pull that shit. You don't care about those things, you didn't even know they existed this morning. You only care about Toushiro." he scoffed.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Ichigo was right. I still didn't know much about werewolves, hunters, or anything else that was out there. I was trying to keep my opinion open because of my ignorance. Who was I to judge something I knew next to nothing about? But every time I referred to a werewolf, I was only thinking about Toushiro.

"It's my job. I swore I would protect people from monsters like them and I will." he sounded like he was rehearsing something he'd practiced in his spare time. It sounded plastic.

I stared at him closely. It had become so hard to read Ichigo now. Before he was always so predictable, but now I couldn't seem to understand him. A little unnerved, I asked. "Do you really think they're monsters?" Was Toushiro really a monster?

_Maybe I really was a monster._

Those strange words echoed in my head. I remembered saying that in a dream. What did it mean?

I shook my head to focus back on Ichigo. He still had that angry scowl on his face. "Maybe they were people once, but they're nothing but killers now." It was painful to hear him sound so sure about what he just said.

I glared coldly at him. "You're telling me you don't see them as people? That's a fucked up reason to think becoming a hunter is justified."

I think I struck a nerve when I said that. Ichigo's fists were clenched and his eyes seemed to be filled with pain. He was shaking and seemed to be holding back his words along with his breath. Ichigo, my strong older brother, looked as though he could fall apart from the overwhelming amount of emotions he seemed to be feeling. It was enough for me to want to take back my words, though I'm sure that wasn't what caused this reaction. I'd never seen Ichigo so upset since...

"Those monsters... they killed Mom." he grounded out, anguish evident in his voice. His eyes were trained on the ground and his teeth were gritted tightly.

"W-what?" I said weakly. "Ichigo, what are you talk about? Mom wasn't killed – she fell and drowned in the river back in Karakura 10 years ago." I remembered Dad telling us her body was never found and that the police announced her dead after a few days of searching.

"And you believe that? What would Mom being doing near the river in the middle of the night?" he snapped, as if offended that I would believe that someone like our mother could be overcome by a mere river. "A werewolf attacked and killed her during a full moon. The story about her drowning was to cover up the existence of werewolves." his voice was suddenly softer, somber. "That's why I became a hunter."

I was speechless. Ichigo had been the one who took losing Mom the hardest. Yuzu and I were only 5 and didn't get as much time with her as he did. Even so, I still missed her, and to think the circumstances of her death were just a lie like everything else had been. It was disturbing. Was there anything that wasn't a lie?

"Do you get it now? They're killers." It was odd. Suddenly the sides seemed to define themselves, with Toushiro being on the bad one. Could one small revelation make such a big difference? "Face it, he was just using you for his own entertainment. Just forget about them." he repeated and continued walking.

We arrived home and I went straight to my room while doing my best to avoid anyone. I laid back on my bed still thinking. I had to sort out my own thoughts before anything else. I just didn't want Ichigo to be right. That Toushiro was a killer, that he used me, that I had to just forget about him. Unfortunately, just because I didn't want that to be true, didn't mean it wasn't. I had to grow up. 15 years old meant I couldn't be a baby anymore, expecting everything to go my way. That wasn't how life worked. Life was a big ugly bitch who liked to slap you around when things are going too good. And if I wanted something a certain way, I had to work for it.

The problem was, I didn't know what to do. Everything Ichigo said seemed to just make so much sense. I didn't like the idea of him and Rukia killing people, werewolf or not, but what were they supposed to do? Let other people be killed? Either way someone had to die. Mom was killed, something that could have been avoided if the werewolf that killed her had been stopped by a hunter beforehand. Mom shouldn't have died. But I guess someone had to, because in the end someone always died.

I groaned and pressed my hands on my eye sockets. I felt the need to reiterate how crappy today had been. I felt a sudden shift in the air and I heard a creak from the floor. I removed my hands from my eyes and was about to shout, but it was too late. They grabbed me.

()()()

"Shit!" I cursed as I kicked the refrigerator. Today had to be one of the worst days I had had in a while. First I was shot in the arm which hurt like hell, then as my luck would have it, Karin showed up. I was tempted to let Kurosaki shoot me by then because I was sure nothing could make things worse.

Rangiku looked from me to the dent in the fridge with a pout on her face. "Calm down Toushiro. So your girlfriend found out you're a dog, you don't need to take it out on the fridge."

"Then what would you prefer I take my anger out on?" I growled.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't be angry. Just go talk to her." she suggested. "I'm sure Karin feels like she's got an egg on her face right now and it's your fault."

"My fault? How is it my fault?" Was I supposed to tell her I was a werewolf? 'Hey Karin, I really like you. By the way I turn into a giant dog every so often and I enjoy howling at the moon in my spare time. I hope you don't mind fleas.' I don't think so.

The other four walked into the kitchen, all apparently listening in. Of course no matter where they were in the house they'd be able to hear whether they wanted to or not.

"Well first off you shouldn't have been messing with her." Momo said in an almost scolding manner. I had to admit she was right about that.

"What are you talking about?" Renji scoffed. "A man has needs that need to be met and if that Karin-girl was helping him with tha-"

"Shut. Up." They were making it incredibly hard to think.

What should I do? The safest and smartest thing to do would be to leave Seireitei as soon as possible. But I really didn't want to do that. I needed to talk with Karin, but that was easier said than done. I was probably the last person she wanted to see and I didn't blame her. Not to mention her brother will be waiting, ready to blow my head off. Honestly, I must have taken lessons on how to screw myself over because I was going for the gold right now.

Yumichika sat in a chair by the table Rangiku was sitting at. "I think you should go talk to her. This house is rather appealing and it'd be nice if you could work something out so we don't have to move." he shrugged. "Unless you don't want her."

"Why would he?" Ikkaku piped up. "She's crazy."

Momo raised an eyebrow. "Crazy? What do you mean?"

Yumichika started laughing when he explained. "She threw a brick at his head."

"And why would she do that?" I asked.

"She caught us following her." I wasn't sure if I wanted to know why they were following her. Yumichika supplied anyways. "We wanted to see why you took an interest in her."

Yeah, didn't want to know. I rubbed my temples in an attempt to calm down. This was so aggravating, or rather, the situation was. My options weren't exactly limited, just most of them were undesirable.

Momo sighed. "Go to Urahara and let him know we're leaving Seireitei. With Kurosaki and Kuchiki around, we aren't safe."

"She does have a point. For all we know, they could be coming here tonight." Renji added.

Rangiku huffed and crossed her arms. "Then thats all the more reason he should go talk to her. She might be able to get her brother to leave us alone."

Yumichika raised his hand. "I'm with Rangiku."

"I say we fight them off. That way we can stay here, keep our dignity, and we won't have to worry about anyone bothering us." No surprise coming from Ikkaku. Although that does sound very tempting, I've already made things complicated for Karin and I'd rather not make it worse.

I left the kitchen and headed to the door. "I'm going to Urahara's." I called back.

I walked fairly slow in the dark. It was at night when I felt most relaxed. The moon was out and the air was cool and crisp. But even the night didn't relax me right now. I almost found it hard to believe that I was doing this. In hindsight, why would I risk the others' safety just so I could be around Karin? Maybe I was just being selfish. Or stupid. Either way, nothing could be so simple as just leaving without a word. Even leaving period. As strange as it was to me, I wanted to stay here, with Karin.

But that wasn't how life worked. Life was cruel and demanding, only giving you a break so it could knock you back down even harder than before. I've lived long enough to know that. So in the end, I'll leave the decision to Karin.

I stopped in front of a house with a clinic attached to it. I'd been here a few times before, but that was before Kurosaki was trying to kill me. I couldn't just go walking through the door like everything was fine and dandy. I walked around to the side of the house and saw a window cracked open. I rubbed the back of my next neck in hesitation. I had to do this just right. I had to be as quiet as possible so I didn't attract anyone who might have a gun or any other weapon that could shoot, stab, or bludgeon me with silver.

Carefully, I climbed up the side and onto the garage. The lights in that room were off so hopefully no one was in there. I jumped from the roof of the garage to the ledge of the window. I looked up to see the room was empty. I opened the window and crawled in. Sad to say this wasn't my first time sneaking into someone's house through a window. Even with the lights off, I could tell this was Karin's room. It was the same as the last time I was here, and her scent filled the room. It was almost intoxicating.

Someone was stomping loudly up the stairs outside the room. As fast I could, I hid under the bed and laid flat on my stomach. The door opened and the light flicked on. It was Karin. She slammed her door shut and flopped on her bed directly above me. Well this was fun. I waited a few seconds. She gave an irritated groan and shifted a little.

This was my chance, while no one else was in the room.

I slid from under the bed and glanced at her from the floor. She had her hands covering her eyes. I stood up behind her and the floor creaked. She sat up and was about to shout, but I clamped my hand over her mouth so she wouldn't alarm the rest of the house. That was a close call because she let out a muffled scream.

I was sitting on my knees on her bed, right behind her with one hand over her mouth and the other arm wrapped around her arms. She started fighting back though. She was a lot stronger than I thought. "Karin, wai-" She swung her elbow behind her and it hit me... in a very _very_ sensitive spot. Werewolf or not, that freaking hurt.

She slipped away from my grip and turned around. Once she saw it was me she was about to yell something but I jumped her again. Now I had her on her back, my hand over her mouth with my other holding both of her hands above her head. The position was oddly similar to the one we were in when we first met, only this time I was on top.

"Karin, you have to be quiet." I told her, trying not to think about how this must look. I didn't dare shift myself with the way I was straddling her. But dammit, why was she squirming so much?

She glared at me and started yelling, though it only came out as stifled muffling.

"That doesn't sound quiet to me, do you want your brother to hear? Just shut up and I'll move my hand."

Her dark blue eyes were livid but she kept quiet. I lifted my hand and held both her hands on each side of her head. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed.

I shrugged. "I wanted to talk."

She narrowed her eyes and started wiggling even more. "Talk? You mean you want to talk about how you're a werewolf? Or did you have a different topic in mind?"

"I know. I'm sorry." I said sincerely. "I didn't want you to find out the way you did."

"Really?" she faked her shock. "Because I thought my brother trying to shoot you, only for you to turn into a giant wolf and running off was a wonderful surprise." she paused. "You asshole, you made me feel like an idiot."

Karin went silent for a few seconds, not looking at me. It made me feel ashamed of myself. But I came here to talk, and I wasn't going to lose my nerve now. "I don't want you angry with me even though you have the right to be. I understand how you feel but try to see it from where I am. It's not like I could put the others in danger by telling you what we were."

She tried to pull her wrists from my grip but to no avail. "Then why did you bother with me in the first place?" she snapped. "I'm sure it would've been much easier to have just ignored me. To have let me drown, or fall, or whatever the hell you stopped."

"I..." It was strange to hear myself hesitating like I was. It was different from how I had felt in a while. I wasn't even sure if I had ever felt this way before. "I didn't want to."

"So instead you wanted to just fuck me over then? Was I some kind of game to you?"

I winced at her words. She really thought that? Everything she said sounded so sure that it pained me to think she really felt that way. "No."

She rolled her eyes away. "Then why?"

"Why?" I repeated, a little frustrated. "I need a reason to want to be around you? Can't it be as simple as I like you?"

Karin gave a humorless chuckle. Even with a bitter tone, she still sounded melodic. "I just find what you say a little hard to believe after being lied to so much. You, Ichigo, Dad... I'm sick of it."

"I'm not lying. Not anymore." I insisted. "I wouldn't come here to continue lying to you."

She seemed to cool down a little, but not by much. "Alright then." she said boldly in a testing manner. "Answer. You, Hinamori, Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika are all werewolves, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you... ever killed anyone?"

That damn hesitation again. It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings like cotton stuck in my throat. It was suffocating and dry. "Yes."

Her low pulse quickened ever so slightly that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't concentrating on it at the moment. She obviously already suspected what my answer would be, but me saying it out loud seemed to make it that more real to her. She spoke again. "You regret it, don't you?"

Even a simple question like that made me feel the guilt I'd been harboring for all of these years. Living as a werewolf was a very controversial thing. It seemed the only purpose of our existence was to kill those weaker than us. And in a sense, that seemed to be all we were doing, existing. Not living.

"Karin, I've done nothing but exist in regret and guilt for longer than I can remember. That is, until I met you." I took in a deep breath. I never thought I would ever say anything remotely like this to another person, let alone think it. But I guess that was what she did to me and I wanted to tell her that. "I don't know what it is about you, but it drives me crazy trying to figure it out. You're bossy, short-tempered, sarcastic, and stubborn."

She raised an eyebrow in aggravation at me. "So now you're insulting me?"

"No. I'm saying I like you in spite of, or even because of that. Because that's who you are. Theres a lot of things I've done that I regret, but getting to know you is not one of them." I paused for a second, calming myself. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I want you to know that."

Karin's features changed dramatically. Before they were hard and calculating, and now they were unreadable. She turned her head away and squinted her eyes. "You wait 'til now to say this." she started, still not looking at me. "And what if I believed you." she said in a steady voice.

I smiled softly at her. She fell into silence again. I just had the urge to hold her more affectionately as opposed to pinning her down like I was doing. Her face was flushed and it made her look so irresistible. Finally, she asked. "So now what?"

I closed my eyes. I couldn't keep looking at her at the moment. "Me and the others are leaving." As I had said, I wasn't going to lie to her anymore.

She tensed at my words. I patiently waited for her reply, doing everything I could to keep control of myself. "Do you want to leave?" she finally asked.

By then I hadn't even realized I was holding my breath. I opened my eyes but I was the one to turn my head away from her this time. I couldn't answer that question. If I told Karin yes I'd be lying, but I was afraid to say no. Afraid she'd want me to leave.

"Toushiro." I drifted my eyes back into hers. They looked angry and hurt. "Do you want to leave me?" she asked, sounding so quiet that only my enhanced senses allowed me to hear.

I stared at Karin in silence. Her deep blue eyes unwaveringly repeated the question to me again and again. I leaned down closer to her, mere centimeters away, her warm breath sending chills down my neck. Without thinking, I pressed my lips against her soft rosy ones, reveling in her addictive taste. The sensation was far more satisfying than anything I'd felt before and I would've been more glad to stay like this forever. It would have been ideal to forget about the world and just be here, doing this.

I pulled back to look her in the eyes once more and whispered softly. "No." Before I reclaimed her lips again.

Maybe life wasn't so bad after all...

* * *

**My sad attempt at something romantic. But it does get the story speeding up faster and more will be explained. And the antagonist will be revealed soon. In the next two chapters at least. Well, let me know what you think and how you're liking the story so far. Feel free to ask anything or suggest ideas that you might want to see later in the story ;)**

_**So let me know! Luv ya!** _


	8. Oh Brother

**Hey guys! Sorry it takens me so long to update. Summer is just the time where I get so lazy I can't even get myself out of bed half of the time, plus I've been busy looking at colleges and all that good stuff that seniors are supposed to do over the summer.**

**I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. I have to finish my AP summer assignments still and school is coming up soon. This chapter gave me a hard time but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get the next done before too long.**

**Thanks to those who sent me messages, telling me to get my lazy butt into gear! And a big thanks to my good friend, _KazeNoSakura_ for taking on the brutal task of correcting and pointing out all my horrid mistakes! Love ya!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

He sounded so sincere. It was hard to doubt anything he said at that moment, despite how everything he'd told me before were lies. I must be really gullible, but right now I didn't mind. The events that took place in all but one day proved to me without a doubt that the saying _ignorance is bliss_ was one hundred percent true. I would have been happier not knowing about anything I knew now, but I'm glad I do know. To rather be lied to so you won't get hurt was weak. Pathetic even. And that wasn't me.

Despite not liking what I had found out, I was more content knowing what I has gotten myself into.

My eyes were locked with Toushiro's. I was no longer pinned but Toushiro was still over me, waiting for my next words. I brought my hands up to his face; my fingers lightly touching his cheeks. His skin was warm despite the cool chill he always gave off.

I couldn't muster anything louder than a low whisper. "I don't want you to leave either." I pulled my hands down, guiding his lips to mine.

Two, almost three months ago, I never would have predicted this. Not just the werewolf and hunter stuff, but where I was right now. With someone like Toushiro. It was odd. Whenever you first meet someone, you get a first impression of what that person is like. Usually the first impression is at least fifty percent accurate. Either way, you learn the most about that person from the first impression, and everything else you learn slowly and gradual.

But not this time. Toushiro had been a mystery since I met him. Today I learned far more than I ever thought I would know about anyone; not to mention the contents of what I learned. And despite seeing it all for myself, I almost still didn't believe it. I was still just waiting to wake up from one of those stupid dreams.

Then again, at the moment I would be incredibly disappointed if that happened. If I were to wake up from a dream right now, then that would mean I wasn't really right here, kissing Toushiro. And it would mean I didn't really know how he felt about me.

I drifted my hands from his face to the back of his head, entwining my fingers in his silver hair. He was so close to me. It was perfect.

"What the fuck?"

Hey God, if you're listening right now...

I. Hate. You.

Against what my brain was screaming to me, I turned my head to my bedroom door. There stood Ichigo. His face was red and I was sure a vein in his head was about to burst. Toushiro was frozen over me before he glanced to Ichigo, back to me, then sighed. Ichigo was by my bed in less than a second. Toushiro jumped off me and landed next to my bed. I quickly rolled off the bed as well. Ichigo was on one side and Toushiro on the other with the bed in between them.

"Ichigo, calm down." Like he was really going to listen to me though. "Can we just talk?"

"Listen to her, Kurosaki." Toushiro said in a low, chilling voice.

Ichigo seemed to be getting angrier and angrier by the second. He raised a fist and yelled. "Don't tell me what to do, Hitsugaya! I told you to stay away from my sister and here you are on top of her!" Way to make me sound like a whore. "I'm done playing around. You're dead."

Ichigo lunged over the bed to Toushiro. They were both on the floor with Ichigo on top of Toushiro and his hands around his neck. "Ichigo! Stop!"

Toushiro kicked Ichigo off of him and got to his feet, glaring at him. "We both know that won't work, Kurosaki. Why don't you use your gun already?"

Really? Egging him on? Why didn't you tell him he hits like a bitch while you were at it.

"Stop it you two!" I yelled. I stood in front of Ichigo, trying my best to hold him back. I really should have planned ahead for all this. Everything was a mess and I couldn't try to deal with all these things at once. Man this sucked. To think I was complaining when I first moved to Seireitei. None of that compared to now.

"Ichigo please, you're being stupid! Just calm down."

"Me? You're the one being stupid! I can't believe you wo-"

He stopped mid-sentence. I looked up to see his face, but instead he fell over, hitting the floor hard. "Ichigo?" Behind where Ichigo was standing was Toushiro. "What did you do?"

"Just knocked him out." he said as though I was dumb for asking.

He closed my door while I checked Ichigo. He was out cold. "Now what?" I asked.

Toushiro paused and looked to me. His voice was stern. "Nothing for you. I'm going to get the others and we're going to leave Seireitei tonight."

"What?" I shot up to meet his stare. "Why? I thought you said you didn't want to leave."

He looked frustrated. "I don't. I'd love to stay here with you, but I can't put the others in anymore danger than what I already have. If I had known what your brother and Kuchiki were when you all first moved here, we would have left months ago."

I couldn't deny the sting I felt at his words. What was I thinking? That everything would be fine now? When did I become such an idealist? Just because I wanted Toushiro to stay didn't mean he would. It was selfish of me to want him to stay in the first place.

I stayed silent, thinking about everything. Then a thought occurred to me. "No you're not."

"What?" he asked while raising a brow.

"You're not going anywhere!" I yelled, finding myself becoming angrier. "You can't just come out the werewolf closet saying all this crap about being sorry and then expect to hightail it outta here!"

"I-"

"'I' nothing! I don't wanna hear it." I cut him off. "You're keeping your furry ass right here after putting me through all this shit. What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

He silently looked at me, eyes slightly wider than usual. Ha, he didn't expect that. Well that was his fault. I meant every word I said. There was no way I was letting him run off, leaving me to deal with Ichigo and all the crap I'd have to hear from him. And I was definitely not some sap who was gonna stand around doing nothing. I didn't care what they had to do, but I was not going to sit here and let things go on the way they had been going.

"You're just going to have to work something out." I concluded.

"What's going on?"

Toushiro and I turned to the door. This time my bedroom doorway was occupied by the lovely Rukia Kuchiki. She had a gun in her hands aimed at Toushiro. I really need a lock for that door.

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "Why are you in here?" she asked Toushiro in a stern voice.

"Rukia wait." I pleaded. "He's not here to cause any trouble."

She looked down at Ichigo and her grip on the gun only tightened. "What happened to Ichigo?"

"He's just knocked out." I said.

Her eyes lingered on Ichigo before confirming to herself that I was speaking the truth. "Karin are you crazy? What are you doing protecting him? Don't you know what's going on?"

"Yes, I know everything and I think I should be able to speak for myself now that I do." I was so sick of hearing them speak to me like I was stupid. I was ignorant of the situation, not stupid. But now that I knew everything, I was just as involved as them which meant I had to do what I could to keep them from killing each other. Maybe if I could just get them to talk things over, maybe there was a chance to settle things.

"You and Ichigo think you're protecting me, but I can take care of myself and make my own decisions. I just need you to trust me."

Rukia looked between me, Toushiro, and Ichigo. Finally she spoke. "I do trust you Karin. Just not him." She cocked the gun. "I'm sorry but I don't have a choice."

I stepped up to her, in front of the gun. She lowered it but kept her eyes on Toushiro. "Rukia, you don't have to do this."

"Yes I do!" she yelled back, her gaze not leaving him. "It's my job. I have to do what I swore I would."

Her eyes were burning with anger and her mouth was set in a straight line. The more they talked about their duties as hunters the more it seemed less like a choice. "Then why are you a hunter? It can't be because you like killing people. Ichigo became a hunter because of what happened to our mom...so why are you a hunter?"

Rukia finally looked at me. "Family tradition." she said in a firm voice. "Don't waste your time Karin, I see what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. I chose to become a hunter and I knew full well what I'd have to do."

"And I know what I have to do." Toushiro's voice cut in. I turned around to face him as did Rukia.

"Toushiro, what the fuck are you doing?" I yelled. Toushiro was standing behind Ichigo, his right foot on his back. But that's not what I was focused on. Toushiro was holding Ichigo's gun and had it aimed at my brother's head.

He ignored me and kept his cold eyes on Rukia who had visibly paled. I could tell she was cursing herself for taking her eyes off him. So was I. "Rukia, I assume you know who Kisuke Urahara is. I want you to go to his shop. Now."

Rukia's eyes were narrowed. She stayed still, not moving an inch. He cocked the gun and spoke again. "Trust me, if you don't comply I have no qualms about killing a hunter."

I couldn't believe this. What was he thinking? Toushiro wouldn't really shoot Ichigo would he?

For the longest time Rukia stood there, debating whether to listen. Her eyes became red and she looked ready to scream out in rage. "Fine." she said tightly. For a brief second she glanced to me, her violet eyes a mixture of concern and disappointment. She looked back to Toushiro, her voice full of venom. "But if there is so much as a scratch on him I won't hesitate to kill you."

She slowly walked out of the room.

Toushiro placed the gun in his pants behind him. He turned to me but before he could even get a word out he was on his knees after a swift kick between his legs.

"What the hell Karin?" he hissed in pain.

"What the fuck were you thinking? How dare you threaten to shoot my brother! Don't you ever do that again!" I was so angry I could shoot him myself. Not to kill him of course but enough to get the message across.

He got back to his feet and glared at me. "I wasn't going to shoot him alright! I just didn't find the thought of chunks of my head all over your floor appealing. Besides, it's not like you had any ideas."

I bent down to Ichigo again. "Whatever." I muttered. He was still out like a light. "So why did you tell Rukia to go to that Urahara guy's shop?"

"You said you want me to try and work things out right?" I nodded at him. "Well this is me working things out. This is our best chance at finding any kind of settlement."

What was he talking about? I stood up again and placed my hands on my hips. "I'm not following."

He rolled his eyes. "Just go along with what I'm saying and try to keep up." Tch. Arrogant ass.

Although now that I think about it, they all knew the guy. He seemed like a neutral party when it came to werewolves and hunters, so maybe he really could help. I wonder how they all knew him and what was the connection between them.

"We need to go to Urahara's...but we also need to get Ichigo there."

I gaped at him. "You mean we have to carry him all the way there?"

**Five Minutes Later...**

"I can't believe we're doing this." I kept my vision low to the ground and stayed a good ten feet away from Toushiro.

He was walking with an unconscious Ichigo on his back. That was not the weird part. The weird part was that Toushiro was a giant, pure white, horse-sized wolf.

I doubt I would ever get used to werewolf Toushiro.

We were walking to Urahara's Shop through the woods so no one would see us. Toushiro had suggested that I get on his back as well, that way we'd get there faster. As amusing as I would have found that, I felt better walking. Even though I knew the wolf was Toushiro, I didn't feel comfortable riding him...Geez will my mind just stay out of the gutter already!

I looked over at Ichigo. He would kill not only Toushiro but me as well if he knew what was going on right now.

There were a bunch of trails that lead through the trees. It was a good thing Seireitei had so much forest. This would have been much harder to pull off in a city. There were fewer lights here too and the moon practically lit the way.

The moon.

_Ichigo scoffed. "And what makes you say that? You have no chance of getting away – tonight's not a full moon."_

_"Werewolves stay human until a full moon when they change into what you saw earlier. But unfortunately, once they change, they aren't themselves anymore and they kill whoever and whatever crosses their path whether they want to or not." Urahara drawled._

I looked up at the sky and there it was. A _crescent_ moon. Not a full moon. Not even half full.

But that couldn't be right. Urahara told me werewolves could _only_ transform on full moons, he emphasized that part specifically. Not only that, but the whole point of killing werewolves was because they became blood thirsty beasts when they turned. Toushiro was still himself, completely competent. So how was he a wolf right now and why wasn't he trying to kill me? I was no werewolf expert, but this wasn't adding up at all.

"Toushiro?" He turned his head and looked at me with his big teal eyes. "You're different, aren't you?" He cocked his head to the side as a dog would. "I mean, you're different from other werewolves. Urahara told me about them and what happens when they transform. But you're not that same. Why?"

Toushiro had stopped in his tracks. His white fur was sticking up on its ends, his ears were perked, and he was staring at me. I half expected him to answer until I realized he couldn't while he was a wolf.

I started walking again. "Will you tell me later?"

He lowered his head which I assumed meant yes. We continued walking for what seemed like hours and the silence wasn't helping. Maybe I should have taken his offer for a ride. I was so tired and my feet were killing me. A lot had happened today – it had to be about two in the morning and yet it still wasn't over.

Finally we reached the back of the shop that was facing the woods. Toushiro stood still staring at me. "What?" I asked after a while.

He laid down and tilted his head back. I had to stop myself from cooing at him. He was so cute as a wolf.

He growled a little and I realized what he was trying to say. "Oh, sorry." I pulled Ichigo off his back and placed Toushiro's clothes that I was carrying on the ground. I turned away and waited while I heard the shuffling of his clothes as he put them on.

"Alright." he said. I turned around and he was now fully dressed. "Let's go."

"What about Hinamori and the others? Shouldn't they be here too?" I asked.

"Probably, but it'd be more troublesome." he shrugged. "They don't need to be here if I am."

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing out. Was I actually right about Toushiro being in charge of the Spectacular Six? How does that even work?

Toushiro grabbed Ichigo's arms and started to drag him into the shop. I went in first, walking into the hallway. Blocking my path was the black cat. It sat there looking at me and if I didn't know any better something about it looked amused.

"Yoruichi, is Rukia Kuchiki here?" Toushiro asked.

"You're talking to the cat?" I deadpanned. What was with everyone insisting the cat told them stuff? It had to be some kind of code or joke or something. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you to talk to dogs?" I joked.

"Maybe if dogs could speak." answered... _the_ _cat!_

"Holy shit!" I jumped back, bumping into Toushiro. "It can really talk!"

It stretched and got to its feet. "Of course I can. Why else would he ask me a question?" it said in a masculine voice. "And yes, she arrived a while ago."

Toushiro nodded. The cat went down the hall and we followed. We went into the same room that I had spoken to Urahara in early today. Rukia was sitting on the floor at the table as was Urahara. When she saw us walk in she rushed over to Ichigo, snatching him from Toushiro.

She examined him closely before glaring at us. "Why are we here?"

Don't look at me. Heck if I know.

Urahara stood up from his sitting position. "Is Ichigo asleep?" he asked amusingly. "We can't have that now can we?" Without warning he pulled out a cane and whacked Ichigo in the back of his head.

"Ow! Who the hell hit me?" As if possessed, Ichigo popped up wide awake, holding his head. He took a second to look around. "Why am I at Hat n' Clog's shop?"

His eyes continued to wander until they rested on Toushiro. "What is he doing here?" he seethed.

Urahara spoke. "Now now, no fighting or you'll have to pay for the damages you do to my shop." he sang while fanning himself. "Now everyone please sit."

Ichigo and Rukia looked at the man like he was crazy. Probably was. "Ichigo, Ms. Kuchiki, you too." he said with a grin.

Reluctantly they sat at the low table. Ichigo and Rukia sat on one side of the table and me and Toushiro on the other. I was across from Rukia while Toushiro was across from Ichigo. Urahara was sitting at the end like he didn't notice the intense atmosphere. Thinking about it, it was probably a good thing the rest of the werewolves weren't here.

A tanned man with thick rimmed glasses walked in and sat down a tray with tea on it.

Ichigo hit his hands on the table causing the tea to spill over. I felt stupid since I was the only one who jumped. "Urahara, you're a hunter! There's a werewolf in your shop and all you do is serve him tea? How can you sit here and let a pack of those _things_ live here in Seireitei?"

He was a hunter? Okay this wasn't making any sense. I wanted to ask my own questions but it wasn't really my place to do so.

He waved his fan playfully, still grinning. "Calm down Ichigo. It seems I have some explaining to do." His eyes drifted upwards, thinking or trying to remember something. He then cleared his voice and started. "Well it goes back to when Toushiro's little pack first arrived here about a year ago. I knew what they were right away, but I found something different about them..."

Ichigo irritably glanced from Toushiro to Urahara. "Which was what?"

"It's not my place to say."

So I was right about that too. Dang, I finally get answers and all they do is bring up more questions.

Toushiro cleared his throat. "Urahara."

The man smiled again. "Right. The question that you are wondering is why I would let werewolves live in Seireitei and not do anything about it." he directed Ichigo and Rukia. "Without saying too much, they are different from other werewolves. I've been allowing them to live here in town, secretly from The Organization. But that doesn't matter as much as the fact that part of the reason they are here is that they're helping me with a new problem."

"New problem?" asked Rukia.

Urahara waved his fan at her. "I'm getting there. But first things first is why you're all here." He glanced to me. "It seems it would be in your best interest to temporarily set aside your differences."

"I don't believe this." Ichigo muttered, standing up to leave. "Either this is a really bad joke or you've gone bat shit! Why the hell would I start buddying up with werewolves?"

Rukia, who was still sitting, said nothing but it was apparent she felt the same way. Toushiro and Urahara looked unfazed, expecting the reaction. I myself was wondering how on earth they were planning to convince these two to not shoot Toushiro and the others heads off.

"Calm down, Kurosaki. No one said anything about becoming friends." Toushiro started with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He looked up at him, teal eyes showing the same disgust that Ichigo looked at him with. "Try to entertain the idea of us helping you."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned away, speaking to himself. "Right, teaming up with goddamn werewolves. And what do you think you could help us with?" he finished sarcastically.

"Your job." Toushiro stated.

Okay, now I was lost. Well actually I had been lost for quite some time but was kind of keeping up with the conversation. Now they might as well be speaking martian. From what it sounded like, Toushiro was offering to...kill werewolves? At least that was what I thought hunters did. But that couldn't be what he meant.

Ichigo and Rukia seemed just as confused. "My job?"

The room was quite but it felt like a bomb was about to go off. Toushiro stared at them for a long time. "Protect humans."

Ichigo sneered and turned to leave the room.

"Hold on, Ichigo." Rukia called. She looked uncomfortable but did a better job of hiding it than my brother. "What do you mean by that? Help us with what exactly?"

Urahara closed his fan. "Allow me to explain. Not long after Toushiro arrived in Seireitei, there were a series of attacks on people. Naturally I assumed it was the wolves until I did some investigating. I found something rather unexpected. I believe Ichigo had a little run in with them not too long ago."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "You know what those things are?"

Things? What things are they talking about?

"Yes. Those are what's been attacking people at night." Toushiro said. "They stopped for a few months but started showing up again recently. We've been helping Urahara get rid of them, but their numbers are growing."

"What are you talking about?" I finally asked.

Toushiro's expressionless face turned to a frown. "It's hard to explain. You've heard about people being attacked at night over the past month, right?"

I nodded. I remember seeing it on the news more than once. People going out at night and being attacked by something and ending up seriously hurt. No one knew what was attacking people, even unsure whether it was an animal or a person.

"What's been attacking people are these things...You would know them along the lines of the living dead." he said roughly.

I sat for a moment, thinking about what he had just said. People were being attacked by creatures, all happening at night, and they're known as the living dead. No way.

I sat up. "Vampires are what's attacking people?"

Rukia started giggling, Ichigo face-palmed, and Toushiro rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. Of course not."

"Well excuse me for not following what you were saying." I retorted, settling back down. Whatever. That had vampires written all over it. "So what are they?"

He sighed. "They're reanimated corpses."

"So...they're zombies?"

"Basically."

Seriously? Of all the dangerous threats that could possibly bring Ichigo and Rukia and the S.S. together, of all the legends and supernatural creatures in the world...zombies? And I was being stupid for suspecting vampires? Vampires would have made more sense. Plus that would have been much cooler than some zombies.

Well unless they were those crazy, apocalypse bringing zombies that infect other people with a virus that would turn them into a zombie too. That would be pretty cool. But it would also suck at the same time because we would be royally screwed.

"So now that everyone is caught up to date." Urahara drawled. "Back to this whole temporary truce business. You don't have to if you don't want to, but it is the best course of action to take during this time."

Ichigo was quiet, looking down at the table. Rukia looked to him and said. "A temporary alliance doesn't sound so bad..."

_"__What?"_ Ichigo hissed, glaring at her.

"I don't like the idea of teaming with them either, but just think about it. We could get to the bottom of these attacks and who's behind it all. Obviously someone is creating and controlling the corpses. We allow the werewolves to help us with this and nothing more." she said as if ignoring that Toushiro was sitting right there.

"Plus..." she drifted off and her eyes wandered to me. Ichigo's eyes did the same.

It seemed as though a possible reason for Ichigo to agree would be so he could keep a better eye on me. Fantastic.

* * *

**Well I hope you all liked the chapter. Things are really going to kick off now! I promise the Big Bad (you should already it's going to be) will show up in the next chapter.**

_**Please Review and tell me what you think! Luvs you all bunches!**_


	9. Close To The Edge

**Hey there everyone! Sorry it's been awhile, but you have to admit that this is sooner than the last update. Right...? *cough* ****Anyway! Thanks for all the reviews and favs again! You guys are great and the only inspiration I have for this story! **

**Once again, thank the wonderful KazeNoSakura for being my beta! And check out her HitsuKarin fics while you're at it. They're awesome!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. (And did you guys see the new chapter? *Spoiler Alert* How awesome would it be for Karin to get a bigger part and powers?)**

**

* * *

**

_The room was cold and damp, an old dungeon. I stood against one of the wet walls, waiting for the old woman to speak. Her hair was a dark grey and tied behind her head in a braid. She looked nearly eighty years old, but I knew she was even older. She was sitting at the old wooden table in the middle of the small room. Her long boney fingers traced the curves in the wood as she stared at me with nearly blind eyes._

"_Sit down." She motioned to the chair on the other side of the table._

"_I would rather stand. Now will you tell me what you know?"_

_She smiled and her wrinkled face lifted. "Come child. We may talk once you sit." she said in a deceivingly sweet voice._

_I reluctantly sat at the table, not taking my eyes off the old woman. "Now talk."_

_She shook her head. "My my, children are so impatient these days."_

_My hands slammed down on the table and a few cracks appeared in the wood. "I do not have time for your foolishness__. You well know I am older than the child you make me out to be, despite my appearance, and you know why that is. __Now talk."_

_Her face fell slightly and she folded her hands on the table. "Well then, talk about what? What is it that you wish to know?"_

"_The curse. What do you know about it?"_

"_The curse." she repeated fondly, her smile rekindled. "Surely you know more about it than I. After all, you were the one to read it straight from my great grandfather's tomb. You are the one who lives with it, not me."_

_I looked to my hands that were white from being clenched so hard. "Indeed."_

"_So then you wish to know how to break it." she concluded. "How long has it been?"_

_My teeth grated against each other every time I thought about it. "Almost 94 years."_

"_And yet you have not aged a day." she mused. She sat there, contemplating me for a moment. After nearly a minute of silence she said. "Many would consider that a blessing rather than the curse you claim it to be."_

_I narrowed my eyes at her challenging tone. "Well then that is them. They would not know what it is like to live like this. I do not enjoy out living my family and friends as they all die without even my presence to comfort them. __I do__not enjoy__ fearing who I might harm during the full moons. I do not enjoy being hated and hunted by every person I come across."_

"_You have no right to complain about such things!" she snapped and pointed a thin finger at me. "Was it not you who disturbed Hari Mingan's grave? You brought this curse upon yourself and you will have to alleviate it yourself."_

"_Then how do I do that?" I yelled, frustrated with the woman. She was telling me what I already knew. "Tell me how to rid the curse!"_

_She sneered as she lifted her hand to her mouth. "Such a brash child. The answer to breaking the curse will never come. The curse makes sure of that. It always ends in death."_

_I got up from the chair and stood over the woman. I wrapped my fingers around her throat as my breathing became erratic. "I warn you, do not toy with me."_

"_You are pathetic. A damned beast, far worse than __I or any __of our kind." she mocked. "Death. Only death."_

"_Answer me! I tire of your __games, old__ woman."_

_She smiled at me, showing her rotten teeth. "Why do you still hold hope? The thought is lamentable. You know only death meets those who may help you. You truly are a wretch."_

"_Shut up." I hissed, my hands gripping her harder._

_She let out a jeering cackle. "Ahaha! Death is your only way to free yourself of the curse."_

_A growl escaped my lips. I tightened my hands around her neck and she laughed harder, further enraging me. She kept laughing. Laughing at me! "Shut up__.__"_

"_Your freedom is in death!" she yelled, still laughing. "Ahahaha!"_

"_Shut up__.__" I repeated, my voice still not above a whisper. I squeezed harder. I was going to silence her once and for all. Her wrinkled hand reached my face and she dug her long, untrimmed nails into my skin. But still she laughed! Why wouldn't she stop?_

"_Your death will free you." she coughed out, a smile still spread across her old features._

"_Shut up!"_

"_Ahahahahaha!"_

_I stepped away from her body that now laid lifelessly on the floor. It was completely still, not even her mouth moved. But it didn't stop. Her laughter. __That damn cackle__ of hers had yet to stop. The goddamn laughing! I could not make it stop! __That…__that laugh! It drowned out everything around me and I could only hear her raspy voice laughing in my ears. My ears! Nothing but laughter in my ears!_

"_Ahahahahahahaha!"_

"_Shut up! I__ screamed. I covered my ears but her laughing would not quit! She was laughing at me. I could not take it. I could not stop it! "Shut up! Quit laughing!"_

_Her body was motionless. She was dead. But she kept fucking laughing._

_I grabbed the leg of her chair, breaking it from the rest of the __wood and raised__ it high above my head, over her body. "Ahahahahaha!"_

"_Shut up!"_

_I brought the wooden leg down, bashing her face in beat after beat. Blood began to blind my eyes but I could not stop. And still the sounds of the wood pounding against her face did not silence the laugh! The cracking of her skull did not quiet her voice! It was not enough! __I had to stop it! I had to! I would not stop striking. I could not stop until that laughter was gone__!_

"_Ahahahaha!"_

"_Shut up!" I hit harder. Anything to stop the laughing!_

"_Ahahahahaha!"_

"_Shut up!"_

"Karin! Time to get up."

"Shut up!" I yelled, springing up from my sleep. Yuzu stood at the foot of my bed, looking frightened.

"Karin? What's wrong?" she asked.

"N-nothing. Um, j-just a bad dream. I'll be up in a sec." I stuttered out.

Once she left the room I threw my blanket off of me. I was covered in sweat and I couldn't seem to get my breathing straight. I looked at my hands. They were trembling. Because of the dream?

Something...something about laughing. Laughing and bloody hands. Arg, but why couldn't I remember more?

I took a few minutes to settle myself down and eventually crawled out of bed. The dreams were occurring far too much for me to waste time trying to remember them anymore. I'd just have to learn to deal with them. I'd have to deal with a lot of strange things from now on. I showered, brushed my teeth, got dressed, etcetera.

There were more important things going on in my life right now to worry about dreams. And as I walked and arrived to school, I couldn't stop myself from reflecting on what was going on with my life, starting with what happened no more than three days ago. I wish I could say those last few days had been interesting, and sure, to someone who was on the outside looking in on what I'd been up to, I suppose the latest events in my life would seem rather interesting. But if you were me, having to deal with this crap right now, it wasn't. It sucked. No doubt about it.

Recap time!

About two nights ago, I found out this wonderful little secret regarding my brother and my...um, well I hadn't figured out labels yet. Boyfriend? Yeah, I guess we could go with that. So, I found out that my boyfriend, Toushiro Hitsugaya, was a _werewolf _and my older brother, Ichigo Kurosaki, was a _werewolf hunter_. I shit you not.

And because of this, I, Karin Kurosaki, girlfriend to the werewolf and sister to the hunter, was caught in the middle of it. Or at least I was. Eh, actually I still am, just not as much as before. You see, two nights ago after Ichigo and Toushiro were done trying to kill each other, they made a temporary truce. So now Ichigo and his girlfriend, Rukia (who is also a hunter) are working together with Toushiro and his friends (who are wolves as well) to stop and destroy some _zombies_. And then there's something to do with a candy shop owner/ex-werewolf hunter and his talking cat. You still with me? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't. I'm barely keeping up myself.

Now because I'm the only normal – and _sane_– person in this mix, I have to stay out of it. No problem there, as long as they aren't at each others' throats, I could care less about what they do. Of course that didn't mean I wasn't given a strict set of rules. Ichigo and Rukia laid down the law. According to them; I am not allowed to be near Toushiro or any of the Spectacular Six without them knowing, I am not allowed anywhere with the SS unless Ichigo or Rukia is present, I have to check in with them every two hours on the hour, and I am not allowed to be out at night. Period.

End of the headache inducing recap. I hope they didn't expect me to honestly follow those rules though.

I yawned and leaned back against my locker. Those stupid dreams always made me feel like I didn't even sleep at night. The annoyance of those dreams were increased due to that I could never remember more than a brief instant or two. I remembered not being me, but after that, once I opened my eyes, the dreams were suddenly lost.

I looked down the hall for Nel and Grimmjow to show up already. They were the only two people other than Ichigo and Rukia who knew about me and Toushiro. Obviously they didn't know he was a werewolf, but they knew he was my "boyfriend". I assumed the SS knew as well, but I couldn't be positive. I hadn't seen them since the whole peacemaking thing.

"Hey Karin." Nel popped up beside me in her usual carefree and cheerful mood. "What's up? How was your weekend?"

"Pretty boring. I didn't do much." After what happened you bet I lied my ass off. I studied Nel for a second. She looked more...upbeat? If that was possible. "What's with you?" I asked. "You seem kinda, I don't know, giddy."

She beamed and clasped her hands together. "Grimmjow finally asked me out last night!"

Huh? "Finally?"

She flipped her green hair over her shoulder. "Oh come on, don't act like you haven't noticed how he's been acting lately."

Honestly, I didn't. Wow, have I been so caught up in my own problems I didn't even notice my only two friends in Seireitei were hooking up? I needed to get it together.

Said friend walked up to the lockers. "Hey guys."

"Hey Grimmjow, what's up?" I said.

He opened his locker since it was his we always met up by. "Eh, nothin'. You hear we have a new teacher?"

"What?" Nel piped up. "What happened to Mr. Ukitake?"

He just shrugged. That was odd. I wonder why he was gone all of the sudden. Mr. Ukitake never missed school and the fact that he hadn't even warned us before he left was suspicious. Although lately I've been finding everything a little suspicious. But I think I was justified in that thinking, if only a little.

"Well enough about that. Karin, what is up with you and your new boy? How's the Ice Prince? Still the master of mixed messages?" Nel asked with an eyebrow raised. Clearly she already used her 'gift' to assess something actually did happen in the days past.

Grimmjow scoffed. "You're still putting up with the little prick?"

I punched him in the arm before looking to Nel. "I'm not entirely sure. I _think _we're together...just secretly."

He rubbed his arm with a cocky grin and said. "Secretly? How stupid can you get?" What was he talking about? He rolled his eyes and continued. "It's obvious he wants to keep shit like that a secret so Hinamori doesn't find out. He's got both of you on his arms." he confidently concluded.

I just rolled my eyes. "Yeah right. Toushiro wouldn't do that."

"I don't know." Nel said, holding her chin. "Grimmjow could have a point. You've only known him for a few months."

"You guys are overreacting. He's not that type of guy." I tried to keep from sounding too clueless to their suspicions though. That in itself would seem suspicious. Or maybe that was just me being paranoid. Whatever, like I said, I had the right to be paranoid by now. The bell rang and we started walking down the hall to class.

Grimmjow just shrugged his shoulders in boredom. "I'm just saying, you don't know much about this guy."

"I know a lot more than you guys think." I said vaguely before walking into the classroom. They gave me odd looks but sat in their seats. They seemed to think I was just stupid rather than actually being worried about me. Oh well, I take that as a complement these days. They seem to be the only ones who think I can take care of myself anymore. It wasn't like I needed anyone to worry about me. I knew what I was doing for the most part.

I knew more about Toushiro than the majority of the school, although in perspective, that couldn't really be that impressive since I still didn't know things like where he even lives! Maybe I should convince him to show me his house. Originally he told me his parents were dead and he lived by himself, but now I can assume he really does live with the Spectacular Six.

Man, I totally hit the nail on the head when giving them that group name.

I sat in my seat in the back of the room. I scanned over the class. Toushiro was at his desk by the window while the others were scattered throughout the class in their own seats. Toushiro had given me a quick glance when I first walked in the classroom. The others, however, had yet to take their eyes off me. They all looked rather curious, expect for Ikkaku who was scowling a bit and – guess who – Hinamori who was back to glaring at me. Yep, they knew. I resisted sighing and leaned back in my chair.

Hey, wait a second. Since they were werewolves...that would make Hinamori a bitch. _Literally!_

"Quiet down class."

Everyone silenced and looked to the front of the room from where the gentle voice had come from. Standing in front of the white board was a man, much younger than Ukitake. He had curly brown hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and a fatherly smile to wrap up the whole package. "Hello, I am your new teacher. My name is Mr. Aizen." he said in a calm voice that matched his face.

"What happened to Mr. Ukitake?" asked one of the students.

Mr. Aizen, without dropping his smile – seriously, what was with all these creeper smilers in Seireitei? – said. "He's been ill for quite some time. He has had to take an early retirement. So now I will be your teacher for the rest of the year."

His warm eyes traveled around the room slowly, like he was capturing each face in his mind. Maybe it was just my imagination, but when his eyes met mine, his lingered longer than with the others. His lips became thinner as his smile tightened for the briefest second. I got this incredibly unsettling chill in my spine and quickly looked away. What the hell was that? It felt like someone stuck their hand right through my back. Spooky shit, I'm telling you.

I was regretting having ever complained about Ukitake. Sure I might have thought he was a bit pedo _at first_, after all he was always smiling and liked to talk with us and even gave us candy for no apparent reason. But I realized he was just a really nice guy. And now we have this new teacher, Mr. Aizen who looked like he could secretly be a serial killer.

We didn't do much in class because the new teacher was spending most of time trying to catch up to what we had done during the past months of school. It was actually a nice Monday, if there was such a thing. That is until lunch came around...

Yuzu and I sat at our usual table with a few other kids from our classes, but today it was quieter than usual because both Ichigo and Rukia were gone. They told Yuzu they had gone back to Karakura to visit some friends again, but I knew the truth. They left right after the whole truce business at Urahara's. Apparently they have to go and work something out with their superiors. Yeah, that's right, their werewolf hunter bosses. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it, but I'll have to trust Ichigo and Rukia. Their bosses knew about the SS living here and so now I guess they have to appeal to let them so the others can stay, and more importantly live. I wanted to go, but the whole hunter society was all hush hush. I wasn't even supposed to know about it. Not like I care though. What were they gonna do about it?

Okay, I take that back. They might do a lot about it.

The anxiety of what might be going on in who knows where Ichigo and Rukia were was bothering me though. And in turn my stomach was killing me. I felt like I was going to heave any second.

"Karin? You're not eating?" Yuzu asked.

"Nah, I'm not feeling too good."

My twin looked at me with big, concerned eyes. "Are you still not feeling good from this weekend when you faint-"

"Passed out." I cut her off. How many times did I have to tell her? I passed out! I don't faint. "And no, it's not that. I'm just not hungry."

She pouted a bit. Yuzu hated it when I did something that she thought was unhealthy, like skipping a meal.

"Hmm, that's too bad. You should eat more with those chicken legs of yours." a snide voice said behind me. I turned around to see the psychotic she-wolf smirking at me. She spoke again. "You really need to eat a cookie or two."

Who the hell did she think she was talking to? I was to my feet before I realized it. Hinamori's cloudy grey eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms.

What was with her? I hadn't done squat to her since we've met. I looked around the cafeteria to see that Toushiro was nowhere in sight. So because he wasn't here she thought she could talk to me how she wanted? I don't think so. "Run along Hinamori. I don't want to waste my energy on a petty groupie like you."

"Who's the groupie here? You're the one following _my _Shiro around. I'm telling you this now: Back off if you know what's good for you. He is none of your business." she said in a calm voice that betrayed her eyes.

Did she honestly think she could tell me what to do? That didn't work when Ichigo tried it and it sure as hell wasn't going to work with her. I crossed my arms as well, shifting my weight to one leg. "Actually what I do with Toushiro is none of _your _business. Your jealousy just makes you look pathetic."

"I look pathetic? Well at least I'm never mistaken for a 12 year old boy."

Okay, that did it. Bitch was going down! Werewolf or not there was no way I was going to let her talk to me like that! I took a step closer, undeterred by her glare. Before I knew it, the entire cafeteria had surrounded us, chanting 'fight' over and over again. Yuzu was looking horrified while both Nel and Grimmjow were cheering me on.

"A lot of talk from a desperate, whiny skank. Try saying it to my face you bun-haired whore!"

Her face was red in less than a second and she lunged at me before I could blink. Her eyes were ablaze and her hair was disheveled, a mess compared to its usual cloth covered bun.

But she didn't reach me. Toushiro was behind her so fast I didn't even see when he got there. He was holding her back with his arm tightly around her waist.

"What are you guys doing?" he hissed. "Stop this now."

I ignored him. Instead I tried to charge at Hinamori even though she was restrained. Some would call that dirty fighting. Um, hello? Chick was a freaking werewolf! She could be chained to a wall and blind folded and still have an advantage over me!

However before I got any closer someone grabbed me as well. A strong arm was wrapped around my waist, keeping me from getting any closer to the wolf in bitch's clothing. I looked behind me to see that it was Ikkaku who was holding me back. I squirmed and tried to pry myself free but to no avail. "Let go baldy, unless you want your ass kicked like Hinamori's is about to be!" I yelled.

"Karin, enough." Toushiro said in a firm tone. Okay, I'm going to seriously have authority issues when I grow up with all these people telling me what to do! Why? I can't take it. I felt like I was going to lose my mind if one more person ordered me to do something one more fucking time.

Hinamori, unlike me, had settled down and was now still. In fact the little slut seemed to lean back into Toushiro. She gave me a fake smile and said. "You know what? I shouldn't stoop down to your level Karin. I'm above fighting trash like you."

Oh hell no. She was _not _trying to make me look bad in front of Toushiro, or the whole school for that matter. Screw me and Toushiro being a secret! I didn't care if the school knew about me and Toushiro being together. I'd deal with the fangirls later.

I smirked at her. "You wish you were on my level. I don't have to throw myself at Toushiro! We see how well that's worked for you seeing as I'm the one who's got him!" I shouted. I knew it was a bit of a low blow, but she had it coming.

The entire cafeteria was filled with 'Ooo's' and wide eyes.

Hinamori snapped. She started trying to fight her way out of Toushiro's grip, trying to get to me as she yelled out a string of threats. "You little slut! I'll tear you apart! I'm going to kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try! Bring it on, Big Bad Bitch!" The pun was probably lost among my classmates but I heard Ikkaku try to hold back a snicker.

Toushiro growled. "Momo! Karin! Stop it."

He was still effectively ignored. We both tried to get our hands around the others' necks, but that wasn't really working out considering we were both being restrained. And to think I was chastising Ichigo and Toushiro just a few days ago. I glanced to Toushiro and boy was he pissed. He was glaring at me, but I didn't care. He should be angry with his number one fangirl, not me. I was about to yell yet another insult but Ikkaku slapped his hand over my mouth.

"Both of you, stop right now."

Everyone froze and turned to look at Mr. Aizen. He was frowning at us disapprovingly. "What's going on here? You two young ladies should be ashamed of yourselves, acting this way."

Neither Toushiro nor Ikkaku let go of Hinamori and me, but we had stopped trying to break free. He walked in between us and asked. "Who started this?" By now Ikkaku had removed his hand but I stayed silent. To my surprise, Hinamori didn't say anything either. Mr. Aizen, apparently knowing it was indeed Hinamori, turned to her. "Come with me."

Toushiro let her go and she followed the teacher as he walked out of the cafeteria, but not without glaring her bitter eyes at me the entire time. The students dispersed, disappointed in seeing no physical fighting. Me, on the other hand, looking back to what I was just about to get myself into, was thinking only two words.

Thank God.

I might have been ready to beat the shit out of her, but who was I kidding? She would have murdered me! I'm talking about a curve-stomp battle full stop.

The bald idiot finally let me go but I didn't even get a chance to go back to my seat when Toushiro roughly grabbed my arm and led me out of the cafeteria. Once in the hall, I tried to pull my hand away but it didn't work. I kept forgetting how strong he was.

"There's no need to manhandle me. Let go." I complained.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed.

I returned his glare. "Me? She started it! It's not my fault."

He looked away in aggravation and rubbed his face before turning back to look me in the eyes. "It's not that. I don't care whose fault it was. She was obviously trying to get a rise out of you, but you should have been smart enough to know that you can't fight her. If the others and I weren't here, you could have seriously gotten hurt."

"I know that." I mumbled. The more I thought about it, the more stupid I felt for not just ignoring her. But whatever, I go by pride before reason. It's a Kurosaki thing. "You know Toushiro, this is kinda your fault anyway."

His brilliant teal eyes stared at me curiously. "How so?"

"Why do you act like you don't know Hinamori likes you? If you don't like her, why can't you set her straight?" I asked. I wasn't blind and neither was the school. Everyone could see Hinamori really liked him, yet he never mentioned anything about it.

Toushiro didn't say anything. He just looked away and rubbed his face again, like it would erase the question. I turned and began to walk away.

()()()

Karin gave me the most disgusted look I'd ever seen her make. She turned around and started to walk away from me. I sighed and grabbed her wrist.

She turned around. "Are you going to answer me?" I couldn't help but hesitate at her incredibly blunt question. Her hard set scowl softened. "Listen, Toushiro. I need to know. You said you wouldn't lie or keep secrets from me anymore. Do you like Hinamori? Or do you honestly not see how she feels about you?"

It's strange. This was the first time I had ever been asked that. Momo had never even asked me that. Of course I knew she liked me, I lived with her after all. Have been for nearly three hundred years. But it was the kind of thing I never wanted to think about. It seemed like an issue that was just waiting to explode if it was ever brought up, and I was right. Momo was really going to hurt Karin. She was right, it was my fault.

"Well?" she asked impatiently with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, okay? I know she likes me."

She pursed her lips, as if she didn't believe me. "Do you like her?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you really have to ask that? Of course not, not the way she likes me. She's practically my sister." In truth, all of them in our little pack felt like a sibling. It's hard to see them as anything less than family after so long.

Karin cast her eyes down and then back up. "But you haven't told her that. Why?"

"I just...I don't want to hurt her." Momo was too sensitive for me to outright say I didn't like her. I had hoped she would settle for less with me after a while, but I saw now that that was my err.

She stepped closer to me and put her hands on my shoulders. Her dark blue eyes were rather sympathetic. "I'll be honest, I don't like Hinamori. That's pretty obvious at this point." she said with a humorless smile. "But you're only hurting her more by not letting her down. She keeps up the hope that you'll come around because you haven't told her how you feel about her. And now she resents me because she thinks I'm taking you away, and soon she'll start to resent you too. I don't want to be responsible for you losing someone you care about."

This girl in front of me, Karin Kurosaki, had yet again utterly surprised me. I pulled her close and she wrapped her arms around me. She then looked up and pressed her soft lips to mine. After awhile she pulled away and smiled at me.

"You know, I'm lucky to have you." I said.

"Yes, you are."

I leaned back down.

_Hey Toushiro, are you done yet? _Renji asked, ruining the moment. I pulled away from Karin who in turn gave me an annoyed look.

_What do you want? _I asked.

_Gym is starting and Momo isn't back yet. She won't answer us._

_Momo? _I called directly to her. She didn't answer, though that wasn't really hard to believe. Karin raised a brow at me. "Why don't you go to gym and I'll catch up later, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." she said dryly. She started to walk in the direction of the gym but stopped and turned to me again, giving me a flat look. "You should talk to Hinamori before coming to class. Go kiss and make up." She paused. "Without the kissing part. I mean it, either of you guys try anything and I'll stake you myself."

"What?" Stake? What was she talking about? I didn't get it.

She frowned. "Isn't that like, the only way to kill werewolves?"

"...no." I said slowly. "You're thinking about vampires again..."

"Oh." Karin's face turned red. "Well, I'll do whatever kills werewolves then!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously, what's up with you and vampires?"

"Nothing!" She turned around and stomped away to the gym. I walked down the hall, opposite of her, towards our classroom. Karin was right, I was being unfair to Momo, and I needed to set things straight with her. I wasn't the religious type, but I felt the need to pray before I tried anything else.

Once I reached the classroom, I leaned against the wall next to the door. I think I could hear Momo and Aizen talking in there.

"Mr. Aizen, I don't understand. Why do you want to help me?" That was Momo.

"I can see things are hard for you right now. We'll talk later, and come to me if you're having any problems, alright?" he said in a calm tone. Something about this new teacher wasn't right.

"Thank you." The door opened and out came Momo. She turned around and smiled at me brightly. "Hey Shiro. Why aren't you in gym yet?" she asked as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened today.

I scowled at her lack of reaction to me. "Why weren't you answering anyone?"

She pouted a bit. "I was talking to Mr. Aizen. He's really nice."

"Right..." We started walking down the hall towards the gym. "Look, Momo, we need to talk. Or, well, it's me who needs to talk. I mean, you see..." I stumbled over my words. This was proving to be more difficult than I anticipated, and I hadn't even said anything yet. "Momo, I just need to say tha-"

"Toushiro." she said softly. I shopped when she didn't use that stupid nickname. "Whatever you have to say, can it wait 'til later? I really don't feel like talking about that right now."

Oh and I wanted to talk about it? The only reason I was bringing it up was because of Karin, who at this point I guess qualifies as my girlfriend. So in context my girlfriend was making me speak to another girl about how I feel...damn, I'm whipped already.

She continued. "How about tomorrow?"

And have my ass chewed out by Karin? I don't think so. "This can't wait-"

"I will see you at home." she said and walked away. I turned around after her but she ran down the hall and disappeared. I sighed for the millionth time that day. I guess I'd have to talk to her later then. Oh well, maybe it was for the best. I didn't want to hurt her, so it was better to wait until she was more comfortable.

I went back to the gym and got dressed. I had to run a few laps for being late to class while the other students were practicing basketball.

_Did you talk to Momo? _Renji asked.

_Kinda. She left right after I found her. _I replied.

Rangiku grumbled. _She needs to get her act together._

_What's with the hostility here? You're taking that Karin-girl's side over Momo? _Yumichika asked disbelievingly.

_No, it's not that. It's just Toushiro seems to be in a better mood lately. Like he's been happier ever since Karin moved here..._

I rolled my eyes. _Thanks for talking about me like I'm not here._

_Well you heard it so that was meant for you to hear. _she snapped. _I'm just saying though, Momo is being melodramatic right now._

Ikkaku gawked. _Why don't you tell her that yourself then?_

_I would if she wasn't blocking us out, Dome Head._

I tuned them out and concentrated on finishing up the last few laps. When I was done, they were all still practicing basketball. I was assigned into a team of boys and started practicing free throws. Karin was on the other side of the gym, playing with a team of girls.

"Here, I'm open." Karin said to one of the girls on her team. The girl tossed the ball directly at Karin's foot and it bounced out of bounds.

"Way to go Kurosaki! Don't you know how to catch a ball?" the girl yelled.

"What? The better question is, do you know how to throw a ball? You threw it at my foot!" she yelled back.

The girl put her hands on her hips. "That's what you say. I say I threw you the ball just fine. Right?" she directed her question to another girl on the team.

"Totally. Kurosaki is such a klutz." she said.

Karin was seething, but I couldn't help but find some humor in the situation. If she didn't want to deal with the girls she shouldn't have been bragging about me to Momo in front of the school. She brought that on herself.

I directed my focus back to my own practice team. But it got boring quick. Basketball, especially gym curricular basketball, was a pain in the ass and just downright annoying.

"Watch what you're doing Kurosaki!" yelled one of the girls from the other side of the gym.

My team had stopped to watch the scene unfold. Actually, the entire guys' half of the gym had stopped to watch. Even the coach. There were a lot of whispering about a hopeful fight since they apparently felt cheated that Karin and Momo didn't. That, however, was beginning to bug me.

A guy behind me whispered to another. "Ten bucks on Hitsugaya's girl."

Another minute, another sigh. Already the students were using labels. Dammit Karin.

The girls were playing, tossing the ball and attempting shots. And then it happened. The girl from before threw the ball. Not at the hoop but at the back of Karin's head. Every single person in the gym froze. I could only see Karin's back but I saw how stiff she was. The girl just stood by with a satisfied smirk on her face. It wouldn't be there for long though.

Let's just say I got a little scared myself.

Karin turned around slowly, her face blank, her body rigid. She let out a small breath and bent down, lazily picking up the basketball that was sitting by her feet.

"You bitch!"

_Wham!_

In a flash the orange ball had smashed the girl in the face and she fell over like a rock, hitting the gym floor with a loud thud. But Karin didn't stop there. As the girl tried to sit up, Karin ran up to her and punched her right in the face. _Repeatedly._

The girls on her team were yelling at her to stop, but they were the only ones. Everyone else was still too stunned – myself included – to move. Karin was on top of the girl, swinging punch after punch on her.

Something about the scene was vaguely familiar.

Finally the gym teacher snapped out of his daze and ran over to her, pulling Karin off of the girl. "Kurosaki! Stop this! You're suspended!" he shouted but she didn't listen.

"I'm sick of this!" she yelled. "I'm done putting up with all of your petty shit! Get over yourselves and quit toying with me or I'll have to make you! All of you."

That last threat sounded rather menacing. The teacher pulled her away and probably to the principal's office. I couldn't help but shake my head.

A hand slapped my back, pulling my eyes from the gym exit. It was Renji. "You sure found yourself a firecracker." he laughed.

"Yeah." Ikkaku said, standing next to him. "Maybe she ain't too bad after all."

Indeed.

* * *

**Okay my friends, I hope you liked the chapter. The begining was really fun to write. I hope you found it fun to read. I just wanted you all to see how a certain someone lost at one point haha. If you don't know who Karin is dreaming about yet...I fail as a writer.**

_**Please review and tell me what you think or ask any questions you may have! Love you all!**_


	10. Just the Begining

**What? A new chapter after almost a year of not posting a thing? Can it be?**

**Yes! It be :) So sorry about the long wait you guys. I'd love to say it's because I've been busy saving the world, building homeless shelters, feeding starving children, and yes, even recycling! But alas, that is not the case (except for the recycling part. I actually do recycle). Really, all I can say is, shit happens. Shit like, y'know, life XD**

**It's been so long I figure a lot of you will have to read a few chapters back to even remember what's going on, if not the whole story, so again, I am very sorry for that. But at least I've got a new chapter for your hungry eyes. And seriously, I give a huge thanks to you guys who are sticking with this story even after so long. It really means a lot and I hope you all still plan to continue sticking. I'm willing to keep up with this fic if you are.**

**And give a thanks to my bud, _KazeNoSakura_ for being a wonderful beta!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

I stood as still as possible with my back against a tree, holding my breath. Despite all the sounds in the forest, mine were distinct. Human. If I made too much noise – moving, breathing – they would hear me. And that meant game over.

The gun in my hand was heavier than I thought it would be, and the trigger was harder to pull. _They_ didn't have that problem, though. But now was not the time to complain. I had to stay alert, I couldn't even risk wiping the sweat out of my eyes.

I had to end this now. Any longer and I wouldn't make it, and all this would have been for nothing.

A twig snapped only a few feet away from me. If he was this close, he already knew I was here. He could smell me. In an instant, I cocked the gun and swung around the tree, shooting off rounds in all directions. The bullets went flying right at him and before he could move, two landed him right in the head. Ikkaku Madarame fell to the ground.

I let go of the breath I was holding, loosening my grip on the gun. I got him. I took down Renji quicker than I thought I would. Ikkaku ended up being harder. Yumichika was gone. I had no idea where Rangiku was, but she was probably still somewhere, waiting for the right moment to make her move.

And then there was a shift in the air. Something was behind me. Oh no. I had forgotten about him. I turned around, aiming my gun directly between his teal eyes while his gun was aimed at my chest. This was it. He was faster than me. The moment his gun's barrel was pointed at me, I was dead. He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "I knew from the start it would come to this."

"Did you now?" I said with a glare. "Then you should have finished me off by now. Or were you going easy on me?"

He sighed. "Don't take it personally. You know we can't keep this up forever." He dropped his smirk and frowned. "Good bye, Karin."

"See you in hell." I managed to spit out before his finger pulled the trigger. I was hit dead in my heart. And I, too, silently fell onto forest floor. To be honest, I didn't mind going out like this. Losing at the hands of Toushiro Hitsugaya was honestly the best way to go out.

But my defeat did not last long.

Two more shots were fired, the sound echoing between the trees, and I saw the look of shock cross his face as he stumbled forward. Standing not far behind Toushiro was my teammate, Rangiku Matsumoto, gun aimed at his back, having just shot him.

"Yes!" she cheered, waving her gun in the air. "We won!"

She ran over to me and pulled me to my feet. I brushed the dirt, leaves, and orange paint off of my clothes and joined her in a victory dance. "Hell yeah! Team Karin beats Team Toushiro 3 to 1! Suck it, boys!"

Ikkaku stomped over to where we danced, wiping away the green paint – that I shot him with – from his forehead. Renji also appeared with several green paint spots all over his chest.

"You guys take paintball way too seriously. It's just a game." said the third member of my team, Yumichika, who had orange paint covering his back. I rolled my eyes at him. He clearly didn't understand that paintball was war. "A very unattractive game at that." he added.

I picked up my paintball gun from the ground. "You're just mad because you suck at it. But at least you get to be on the winning team."

Rangiku giggled. "Yeah, looks like estrogen beats out testosterone!"

"Hey! I'm not a girl." grumbled Yumichika.

"Could have fooled me." I said quietly. Obviously they all heard me and started laughing.

Two arms snaked around my waist and a pair of lips appeared next to my right ear. "Hey there. I'm sorry I shot you." said Toushiro.

I turned around and faced him. "Aw, it's okay. After all, I did shoot you first."

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, but stopped short after hearing a large sigh. We turned around to find Rangiku looking at us with big eyes. "Oh! You two are_so_cute!" She ran over and gave Toushiro a hug, trapping his head between her...assets, while spouting something about having given up hope on him.

I wished I had a camera because this was too funny. The others laughed along with me at Toushiro's expense.

Toushiro finally broke free from her death hug. "Damn it, Rangiku! I told you to stop doing that!" he yelled. The fact that the always cool headed Toushiro was yelling only made this moment even funnier. It seemed only Rangiku could get that rise out of him.

We all walked through the forest until we reached the road that we followed along to the Spectacular Six's house. It took me all day to finally get Toushiro to let me come to his house. I was right, as usual, when I guessed that the SS all lived together. Once we got to the house, I fell out on the living room couch while they all found it amusing that I was tired already. Whatever. I'm not a supernaturally endured werewolf so they can just bite me. Not literally.

Everyone chilled down in the living room, Renji and Ikkaku playing videos games, Yumichika reading, and Rangiku painting her nails. Toushiro took a seat next to me and I stared at the ceiling, my head on his lap. Every now and then he would run his fingers through my hair.

I bit my lip, wanting to ask the question that had been bugging me all day, but it didn't seem appropriate. Instead, I opted to ask a different question.

"So, what's the verdict, guys?" I said out loud. The others stopped what they were doing to look at me. "Am I acceptable to hang around? Or do you have to kill me for knowing too much?"

Rangiku beamed and said. "My answer is obvious." Yumichika nodded in agreement. Those two, I was never worried about. It's Renji and Ikkaku I had to impress.

"You're cool with me. After all, I don't want you beating me with a basketball." said Renji, referring to my fight in gym earlier today.

"Same." said Ikkaku, laughing. "That was freakin' hilarious."

I tried to not laugh, as Toushiro was giving me a pointed look. He didn't like the fact that I had gotten into a fight. I didn't really know why he cared since it wasn't Hinamori. Whatever. I'll do what I please. That bitch who hit me in the head with the basketball deserved that beating! She was lucky the couch pulled me off of her because I was about ready to strangle her next.

I put my hand to my chest and made a melodramatic gasp at the others. "You mean you guys really like me? I'm touched."

That received me a pillow thrown at my face from someone in the room. However the laughing was cut short when the door opened and in walked my least favorite person. She looked right at me, my head on Toushiro's lap, and his hand in my hair. Hinamori, the one I wanted to ask my original question about, gave me a heinous look. She wasn't here when I showed up after school and she hadn't played paintball with us at all. I was wondering where she was since there didn't seem like much to do in Seireitei, and because she usually followed Toushiro around like a shadow.

Everyone had become very silent, looking between me and her.

"What is she doing here?" Hinamori asked, her voice unusually squeaky. Guess they didn't tell her I'd be here. She jerked her grey eyes from me to Toushiro. Her gaze remained on him as if she was still speaking, though she was silent.

Toushiro closed his eyes in irritation for a second. Suddenly Rangiku started giggling to herself and Hinamori looked distraught.

"You can't be serious." Hinamori said, her tone flat.

"I am." Toushiro replied.

She let out a growl and stomped straight upstairs, probably to her room. Within seconds, the loud slam of a door shook the whole house.

What was that? Did I somehow not hear or see them talking? I felt like I missed an entire conversation.

I looked up to see Toushiro looking down at me. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed. "Just go."

He got up and followed Hinamori's path upstairs. I sat up, annoyed by her childish behavior. Apparently she hadn't bothered talking to Toushiro earlier today after lunch. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but he needed to talk to her and I felt like it was my fault that they weren't talking. I didn't want to be the one who got in between their friendship.

The new teacher, Mr. Aizen didn't help the situation either. He told me he was moving Hinamori's seat right next to mine in the back of the classroom. I didn't know why he would do that when he was the one to break us up during lunch. It was pretty obvious Hinamori and I didn't get along. Just thinking about it, there was something seriously not right about that guy. For some reason, after I lost my temper and took it out on that girl who hit me, I was being chewed out by the principal when Aizen came in and asked that I not be suspended. I would be grateful if I weren't so creeped out by the guy.

Suddenly the sound of something breaking came from upstairs and shouting I couldn't make out. I looked to the others.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" I asked. They all nodded. I considered asking what was being said, but it was between Toushiro and Hinamori...and the rest of the Spectacular Six. I stood up and stretched my arms out a bit. "I think I'll head out. Tell Toushiro I left, okay?"

"Sure thing, Karin! Come back anytime!" Rangiku shouted after me as I left the house. I carried myself down along the sidewalk for over half an hour before I finally made it to my house.

At dinner it was only me, Goat Chin, and Yuzu since Ichigo and Rukia were still at their hunter convention or whatever the hell it was. I hadn't really talked to Dad since this whole mess started. Ichigo told me Dad used to be a hunter along with Urahara, but he's retired as well. So he basically knew everything that had been going on but just sat back and watched. Some Dad. Then again, it was better than him wanting to annihilate Toushiro and SS. The only thing that was bothering me was that he hadn't said anything to me about it.

I looked down at the dinner Yuzu prepared, taking small bites. I ate slowly, taking my time so I could debate whether I was going to confront him or not. And then there's Yuzu. She was still clueless. But maybe it was better that way. She didn't need to get involved.

"When are Ichigo and Rukia coming back?" Yuzu asked. "They're going to miss school again tomorrow."

Dad dropped his fork and began to gush. "Aw, my little Yuzu! So sweet, caring about their education while they're off canoodling and leaving us all behind and-"

I punched him before he could go any further. "Canoodling? Really, Dad? They went to Karakura to visit old friends. Quit putting stuff in Yuzu's head!" I turned to Yuzu, sitting back down in my chair. "They should be back tomorrow night."

"Oh, good. You have class with them so you can give them their missing work, right, Karin?"

"Yep." I said, shoving some food in my mouth. I was definitely not bringing up werewolves and hunters tonight.

"Karin." Goat Chin started. "Your principal called me today and told me what happened in your gym class."

I rolled my eyes. Was he going to start scolding me now?

"That's my girl!" he cheered. "Don't let those other kids get you down! Teach 'em who's boss!"

That idiot. Of course he wouldn't be like a normal parent and punish me for fighting.

He relaxed and started to say something else. "However, I've been hearing things lately...things that are starting to concern me. Things that involve a certain young man by the name of Toushiro Hitsugaya."

No, duh. Of course he heard stuff about Toushiro. Why bring it up? I rolled my eyes and shoved a heaping of rice in my mouth. "Yeah, yeah."

"I want you to invite him over for dinner."

Rice sprayed across the table like white rain. I started choking on the grains left in my mouth. "What?"

"You heard me!" he yelled, puffing out his chest. "I know you two are going steady and as your old man, I need to confront the little hooligan!"

Going steady? Hooligan? What?

Yuzu clapped her hands together. "That would be wonderful! I'd love to make dinner for your new boyfriend, Karin." she finished, giving me smirk.

I cleared my throat. "I don't think that's such a good idea. He's not really a people person."

"Nonsense! You'll invite him over this Wednesday that way Ichigo will be here to help me straighten him out!"

I groaned as my forehead met the table. "Oh, it'll be fine Karin. This is the first boy you've ever shown interest in and I'd like to get to know him." said Yuzu.

No. Please, no.

Bringing Toushiro around this madhouse was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Ichigo was one problem. Yuzu, nowhere near as bad but still not ideal. And then there was Dad. What was he getting at? He was a hunter, sworn to kill werewolves, and that was even before Mom was... I guess I just wanted to know why he retired. And why he suddenly didn't seem to have an issue with who I was dating, as far as species anyway. My father might be a goofy and bumbling idiot, but he was still concerned for my safety, right? He must have thought I was safe if he would let me associate with Toushiro and the others, right?

I didn't want Dad to get in between Toushiro and I, but I'd like to know that Dad cared about me enough to show concern over the fact that I'm dating what he was once dedicated to killing.

"Well, you girls have school tomorrow, so get to bed! Karin, just because a guy has finally found you feminine enough to be attracted to you, doesn't mean you can spend your nights up thinking abou-"

"Shut up, you pervert!" A kick to the face silenced him.

I went upstairs and right to bed. That night, I had a dreamless sleep.

The next morning I woke up with a terrible feeling in my gut. Today I'd have to invite Toushiro to come over tomorrow for dinner. Joy.

I hopped out of my bed and went straight to the shower. As I removed my clothes, I noticed something strange. Around my neck was a chain necklace. The chain was rusted and clearly old, but on it was a small four-pointed star. It looked to be silver. Holding it in my hands, I knew it wasn't some cheap knockoff or anything. I tried to undo the chain, but it wouldn't budge. Time was running against me this morning so I got into to the shower and planned to get the necklace off when I was done getting ready for school.

After the shower, getting dressed, combing my hair, brushing my teeth, yadda yadda yadda, I was back to trying to rid my neck of the jewelery. But no matter how hard I pulled and yanked, the stupid thing wouldn't come off!

Studying the charm again, it looked painfully familiar, but from where? I had this horrible nagging in the back of my head. I had seen this before, I just couldn't remember when. Maybe it was Yuzu's? Or Dad's?

Dad...

That had to be it. He was always sneaking things into my, Yuzu, and Ichigo's rooms at night. One morning I had woken up with pink barrettes stuck in my hair. Why did I get such a flake for a dad?

I sighed and headed outside. I'd be late at this rate. The necklace would have to be dealt with after school.

The walk to school was barely registered. I noticed I'd been zoning out quite a bit these days. Just thinking about how crazy things have turned in just a few months was amazing.

As usual, I waited by Grimmjow's locker for him and Nel to show up. Nel arrived first, by my side in a second, shouting into my ear. "Karin! Are you crazy? What was with you suddenly going she-hulk on that girl?"

I backed away for the sake of my ear. There was a reason I ignored all her calls from last night. "She hit me in the head with a basketball." I said. Was that not reason enough?

She crossed her arms. "Yes, a basketball. Not a bat, or crowbar, or knife, or gun. You went way overboard! Warn me the next time you're going to go batshit on people!"

"She. Hit. Me." I grounded out. "It doesn't matter with what. She initiated the fight. She couldn't back up her actions and that was her fault."

Nel huffed. "Jeez, Karin. You seriously need some anger management classes or something."

"Calm down. It's not like I was suspended or anything."

"How'd you manage that?" she asked.

"Aizen asked that I not be punished. It was weird." I said, taking my focus from Nel to the weird teacher.

Nel pouted at my lack of concern before suddenly saying. "Oh, Karin, that's a cool necklace. Where'd you get it?"

I found myself twirling the necklace without even realizing it. I shrugged. "Not sure. I think my dad might have given it to me."

A harsh laughter entered our ears. Grimmjow showed up, placing his hand on top of my head. "Didn't think you had it in you." he said to me. "Karin, I swear I was gonna shit my pants laughing when you started wailing on that girl!"

I just shook my head. Grimmjow seemed to appreciate my no bullshit attitude displayed yesterday. Then again, when I looked around the halls, everyone that passed me either gave me a thumbs up, or in the fangirls' cases, avoided eye contact and quickened their steps. Ha! I've got this school in the palm of my hand.

"When's your brother getting back?" said Grimmjow.

"Tonight. Why?"

He grinned and punched his fist into his other palm. "He left before I could settle some unfinished business with him."

I rolled my eyes as Nel started to berate him for fighting. Now that I knew what Ichigo was, I could care less about who he fought. I leave them to talk and head into the classroom. Standing by his desk was my favorite werewolf. "Hey, Toushiro."

"Hey." he said, turning. "Why'd you leave yesterday?" he asked. He pushed himself from off his desk and got close to me.

Wasn't it obvious? "Well, you and..." I refrained from using her name for the simple fact that I knew this conversation wasn't very private. "You two were talking for awhile and I figured me being at the house didn't do much to improve her mood. It's no big deal."

Toushiro chuckled. "Since when are you so considerate?"

"Whoever said I wasn't considerate to begin with? In fact, I find myself very selfless and thoughtful." All lies.

He just smirked and shrugged. He lifted his hand to my chin, pulling my face closer to his. "Guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

I raised a brow. "I look mean or something?"

"You don't look nice." he said. Hm, maybe if I was a nicer person that would have actually hurt. "But I don't mind." he continued as he gave me a soft kiss.

"Oh, I know you don't." I said before kissing him back. I pulled away, only because I still needed to ask him. "So, did you talk with her?"

He groaned and pulled away, rubbing his eyes. "No." He turned back to face me, but then his eyes drifted down from my face. For a second I thought he was staring at my chest, but then I saw it was the necklace he was looking at. "Wh-where did you get that?"

He raised his hand to the silver charm that was on the rusty chain. His fingers touched the necklace...

_I was sitting in the shed, trying to get to sleep. I found I couldn't get myself comfortable on the floor of the hut. But the hay gave me some sort of cushion._

_The sun has already set. I stretched my limbs in the hay when my right arm began to ache. The arm where four deep gashes were still trying to heal. It had been a few weeks since the others and I were in the tomb, as well as a few weeks since we came face to face with Hari Mingan. Just the thought of him, thinking of the decaying beast inside the tomb made my arm hurt. It was so strange. Even after these weeks, the pain in my arm had yet to decease._

_Our expedition proved without a doubt that the legends regarding Hari Mingan were true. But what did that mean for us? Us, who went down there, disturbed his tomb, and were then attacked. It was a miracle we got away...but what next? We were cursed, weren't we? At least that was what the inscription read. It had to be true, the myth turned out as such._

_I felt for my necklace, then when remembering it was gone, sighed. Granny was quite upset when I told her I had lost it. I couldn't tell her it was now Hari Mingan's, after all._

_A sudden jolt of pain raced through my arm and a wave of nausea hit me full force. Suddenly my head started pounding. Then my arm began to bleed. Everything in my body was hurting._

_I got up and stumbled to the shed door, falling to the ground once I reached outside. It was night out, pitch black with a bright full moon. The moment I saw the white sphere, I could no longer breathe. Writhing in the dirt and hay, I grabbed my stomach, clenching onto my skin as hard as I could. Blood began to seep through my shirt where my nails dug into my skin. Anything to dull the pain inside me. It felt like my insides were tearing, slowly pulling apart from each other. I could do nothing but scream from the intense pain._

_From where I laid on the ground, I heard a pair of footsteps. "Toushiro? Are you alright? What is wrong?" It was Granny. She knelt down beside me, placing her hand on me._

_The pain was unwavering. I couldn't move__.__ It_ _was so excruciating. The sound of my clothes ripping entered my ears. My vision began to blur. And the pain only increased._

"_Toushiro?" she called again. This time, her voice sounded fearful. I could only reply in a scream of agony. I screamed until an unfamiliar sound left my mouth. It wasn't my voice. It wasn't human. It was the scream of a monster._

_And soon the night was filled with screams...and blood._

()()()

Around Karin's neck was my necklace. My father's necklace he left me after he died. The necklace Granny gave me before I went into the tomb. The necklace I gave up to Hari Mingan nearly three hundred years ago. It was the same as the last time I saw it. A silver four-pointed star on an old rusted chain.

How was it possible?

"Wh-where did you get that?" I asked, shaken. I hesitantly grabbed the charm. The second my skin touched it, my hand began to burn. I pulled away. Silver. It really was my necklace, which meant I couldn't touch it now. Silver was beyond my grasp.

"Karin?" I said. Karin was standing still. She had gone rigid as a board, eyes in a daze. She stood unmoving. "Karin, what...?"

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell backwards, hitting the floor with a hard thud.

"Karin!"

Her body started shaking, like she was seizing up. I grabbed her shoulders and lifted her head from the floor. Shit, what was going on?

"What happened?" Nel and Grimmjow rushed over. Several other students stood by, looking at Karin as she continued to shake.

I picked her up in my arms, holding onto her bridal style. _There's something wrong with Karin. I'm taking her to Urahara's. Stay here_. I told the others.

_Shouldn't you take her to a hospital?_ Renji asked.

_No, I think it has something to do with the curse._

The class had started to surround Karin so I pushed my way out of the room. I held her tight in my arms so I wouldn't drop her. She stopped shaking once we were in the hall.

"Toushiro, wait! Where are you taking her?" Nel called, following me out of the room with Grimmjow behind her.

I didn't have time for this. Think. What was a good excuse? I half turned to face them. "Um, Karin...is an epileptic. And her father has her medicine so I'm taking her to her house."

That sounded awkward. And did epileptics have medicine? I had no idea. They seemed to buy it, though, if only a little. I got the feeling they didn't trust me on a normal basis. They stood aside, going back into the classroom and I turned to go down the hall. Before I could leave, however, a hand grabbed my arm. It was Aizen. His eyes were narrowed behind the glare of his thick-rimmed glasses.

"Toushiro, I think you should leave her here. I'll take her to the nurse's office." he said with a smile that I didn't trust.

There was something off about this man. Momo had been talking with him yesterday. I tried talking to her after lunch and then again after school, but she wouldn't tell me anything. It got to where she started throwing things at me at home. I didn't know what it was, but I've got this underlying feeling that this man was somehow involved in her silence. He'd said something to her yesterday. I know it.

I didn't bother looking at him. "It's fine. I've got her."

He stepped closer, still not letting go of my arm and said. "No, I think I should take Karin."

I jerked my arm from him and a growl escaped my lips. Not my most inconspicuous moment, although he didn't looked surprised. He just retracted his hand and smiled. But I didn't have time to be concerned with him.

Urahara's shop wasn't far from the school, I could easily get her there. Just a minute after we left the school grounds Karin began to yell. She started squirming around in my arms, grabbing her head and screaming incoherently.

What was happening to her? I was positive it had something to do with the curse, but what? I grabbed the necklace, but the silver. Just touching the small charm made my entire body weak. I couldn't even muster the strength to pull it off her neck. The burning sensation was too much and I let go of it. I held Karin closer to me and continued to Urahara's as fast as I could go. This would have been easier if I had a car. But come to think of it, no one in Seireitei owned a car. Everyone walked to where they were going.

It wasn't long before I was at the shop, entering through the back door. Karin was still screaming.

"What do we have here?" Urahara said while fanning himself. He looked down at Karin and frowned. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." I said, setting her down on a mat in one of the rooms. She continued to scream and grabbed her head, shaking. "Pull the necklace off."

He shrugged and yanked it off her neck. Karin stopped shaking and went silent as though she were sleeping. I sighed in relief. I wasn't sure if that would even work or not. He held it in his hand before looking at me skeptically. "Mind telling me what this is? I doubt you brought her all the way here just for me to take this off."

We left and went into another room with a low standing table. He eyed the necklace in his hands more closely. "That was the necklace I gave up to Hari Mingan as a gift when the others and I went to his tomb." I told him.

"The gift you gave in vain, thus resulting in you all being cursed." he said with a faint smile.

"Yes. That."

Yoruichi walked in, hopping onto the table in cat form. "You know what this means, right?"

No. Not really.

The cat began to stretch herself. "It means you'll have to tell Karin about the curse. It involves her now. You've noticed how often these 'accidents' have been occurring around Karin, haven't you? It's the curse."

Yoruichi was right. I'd known for awhile, but I didn't want to admit it. She spoke again. "However, she's lasted the longest. Wouldn't you say?"

Despite that she didn't mean it harshly, Yoruichi's words stirred up uncomfortable feelings. 300 years of meeting people, getting close, only for the curse to kill them off had made it hard. Anytime someone got too close, the curse did its job well. But again, she was right. Karin had lived much longer than anyone else we'd met who had honestly tried to accept us. I'd certainly tried to keep it that way at least. There had been countless instances where she almost died. The curse was incredibly persistent.

Urahara held up the necklace again. "And this is a good sign for you. It means it won't be long before..." he trailed off.

"Not with the way Momo has been acting." I mumble. He placed the necklace on the table. I glared at it. I wanted to grab it. To pick it up and put it around my neck where it belonged. Where it should have stayed when Granny gave it to me all those years ago. "Fine, I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"What happened? Why am I at this stupid candy shop again?" Standing in the doorway to the back room was Karin. She was rubbing her neck.

Urahara smiled brightly. "Perfect timing! It seems you had a spill at school, but all's well now."

Her dull eyes looked to me and stayed for a few seconds before she looked to the wooden floor. She was frowning, but not angrily. She looked sad. "I remember my dreams now." she mumbled.

Dreams? "Karin, what are you talking about?"

"Ever since I got here...I've been having these odd dreams. Dreams of going to a tomb with the others, how you got those scars on your arm, dreams of a monster...and killing people..."

My blood ran cold. She knew. But how was that possible?

"At first, I would have a strange dream, but I'd forget it the moment I woke up. But now I can remember them all clear as day. They feel real. Like I was really doing what I did in the dreams. But it wasn't me. It was you, right, Toushiro?" she said this with a firm voice. Not cracking, not wavering. Just a steady flow of words.

I stood up but she quickly raised her hand to stop me. "Karin, I..."

She shook her head. "You don't have to explain what you did. I understand. I felt what you felt. And besides, it's all in the past. It's just...I knew you haven't always been the best person. You told me what you'd done in the past. It's just, now I've seen it."

She looked me in the eyes, brows furrowed. I had no idea what she was trying to say or what she was thinking. But I was scared of what it was. No matter that she knew what I've done, I never wanted her to see it. It was one thing to hear about the mistakes I'd made, and another to witness them, because now she saw me as the monster I really was.

I went up to Karin and grabbed her arms. "Look, I know it's hard to forget what you saw. But what you saw in those dreams, that's not who's standing here in front of you. That was a long time ago when I was confused and angry. I'm not saying what I did wasn't wrong, but you have to believe me. If I could take back all those things, I would."

She shook her head. "I said don't explain." Her cloudy blue eyes were narrowed at me. "I'm sorry. I've been here, just playing games with you guys, thinking I knew everything. Turns out I still don't know what's going on because I didn't even know you needed help. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You shouldn't have to know everything." I said. I didn't want her knowing anything period. It was for her safety. The more she knew, the more danger she would be in. Karin was not someone I wanted to risk losing.

She pulled her arms from my hands. "No. I'm a part of this now and I want to know everything. I want to help you guys. You're not going to have me sitting back when there could be a way that I can help you guys."

Dozens of reasons as to why she shouldn't help came to mind. And hundreds of scenarios of what could happen if she did help blocked my view. Every single one ended with her dead.

"No, I can't let you-"

She placed her index finger over my mouth and smirked. "You're not _letting_ me do anything. I'm making this decision on my own."

"Then it's settled!"

We both jumped, having forgotten we weren't the only ones in the room. Urahara came up to us and rested each hand on our shoulders, leading us to the table. "Toushiro, my good man, you catch Miss Kurosaki up with you and your group's mishaps." he said with a giant goofy smile on his face before leaving the room while twirling his cane, Yoruichi following behind him.

That idiot thought he was being cute.

Karin sat across from me and crossed her arms. "Well? Let's hear it, Toushiro."

My shoulders slouched. Where should I start? There was a lot considering how many years of crap added up.

"Alright. I'll start. First off, I want to get this cleared up because I've been wondering about this since the night you and Ichigo made that truce." she said, placing her elbows on the table. "You're not a normal werewolf, are you? Urahara told me a lot about them, but you and the others don't seem to meet the criteria."

I stared at the necklace on the table for a moment. I needed to get my thoughts together. This was going to be a long day. "Okay... Basically there's two kinds of werewolves. The ones that are born with the werewolf gene, and the ones that are bitten and turn later."

"And which are you?"

"Neither."

"Huh?"

Yep. This was going to be a long ass day. "I'm neither. Same goes for Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Momo. We weren't born with the werewolf gene and neither of us were bitten by a werewolf."

She scowled at me. "Then how is it possible that you guys are werewolves?"

"You said you had a dream about me and the others going to a tomb. Did you see what happened in there?" I asked.

She nodded and looked down at the necklace. "You gave up that necklace to Hari Mingan. But then he..."

"He didn't accept it." I sighed. "What happened in the tomb was how we were cursed. Hari Mingan was the first werewolf. Anyone born with the werewolf gene is a descendant from him and any other werewolves were bitten by those born with the gene. We, however, were cursed for disturbing his tomb."

"Okay, but what does that mean? Is that how you can turn into a wolf even when it's not a full moon? And why you're not bloodthirsty when you turn?" she asked.

"Those are because of the curse, but they aren't the actual curse. Being able to control ourselves and turning at will comes from years of being a werewolf. Only the oldest wolves can do that." I said the last part cautiously. It was an unnecessary add on, but I felt it was needed. It would open the next question.

She stared at me a long time before her eyes widened. She stood up for a second and put her hands to the sides of her head. "Oh duh!" she yelled. "I'm so stupid! Why didn't I put it together before? Those dreams – they didn't happen recently. They seemed like ages ago. In villages with peasants and farmers and shit. And you all are still the same age."

She had a funny way of stating her realization.

Karin then sat back down and stared at me with squinted eyes. "Wait, so how old are you?"

"Physically, 16. That's when I was cursed." I started. "But counting the years I've been around, roughly 300 years." 313 to be exact, but, well I feel old enough...

Her eyes went wide. "Are you serious? I'm dating an old guy?"

"..." My eye was twitching. I could feel it.

"I mean, I figured you were older than you looked, but 300? That's just...sad! So, you're like, stuck as 16 years old? How does anyone even take you seriously?"

Oh, trust me, they didn't. "Karin, I understand this is a bit of a shock-"

"A bit? Are you kidding me? You're three freaking hundred years old! My boyfriend is older than my old man!"

"Okay, I get it. I'm old." I grumbled. "Anything else you want to complain about? Take your pick: I growl when I'm angry, I bark in my sleep, I shed in the summer, I brush my teeth five times a day to avoid dog breathe. The list goes on but let's just take our time to bitch about these for now and then go from there."

Karin placed a hand over her mouth, snickering. "Sorry. When I'm surprised I tend to lack any couth." She placed her hands on the table and leaned over it, moving her face close to mine. "But, Toushiro, don't worry about it. I actually don't mind the age difference. After all, you're still_technically_16, right?" she said with a smile before kissing me. She put her hands on my cheeks and crawled over the table. Pushing me backwards, she was on top of me with my back to the floor.

"Technically." I replied. I couldn't fight the smile she caused. Karin stopped and I looked into her eyes. "I don't like this."

"What? Is this position uncomfortable?" she asked.

She was straddling me at the moment, did I look uncomfortable? I rolled my eyes. "No, not that. I don't like the idea of you being involved. There's more to the curse."

Karin sat up a bit and crossed her arms. "Like what?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Wow. Again? Really?

Karin jumped to her feet and I slowly stood up after her. "Ichigo! What are you doing here?" she said, covering her eyes with hand.

Ichigo Kurosaki was in the doorway, wearing the same expression he had when Karin and I were in her room. "Why is it every time I walk into a room, one of you is on top of the other!"

I'd like to know the answer to that as well.

"I thought you weren't gonna be here until later tonight." Karin said, her face bright red.

Rukia walked into the room from behind Ichigo. She smiled lightly. "Calm down, Ichigo. They're in that stage." She glanced to me and her smile wavered for the briefest second. She still wasn't comfortable with me, but she was good at hiding it.

Urahara walked back into the room, still swinging his cane around while whistling. "Good, you're back. How was the meeting?"

Ichigo and Rukia frowned. Rukia started. "We've got some bad news."

"What is it?" Karin asked.

"At the hunter meeting, they obviously knew about werewolves being here." said Ichigo, running his hand through his hair. "They don't care about the ʻalleged zombie issueʼ. They just want the werewolves here killed and they expect me and Rukia to do it."

Shit. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Werewolf hunters weren't the saints they tried to paint themselves out to be. They only cared about raking up their kill scores as if this were all a game to them.

The room was silent for a moment. That was, until the idiot cracked another carefree grin. "Well." Urahara started. "That's unfortunate. But I'm sure our little battle couple here won't go through with it."

"Unfortunate?" I snapped. "What do you think is going to happen when the Council of Hunters check-in and these two don't have giant wolf pelts?"

"Pelt." Rukia corrected. "We were able to convince them there's only one wolf. Had they thought there were as many as six living here, the Council would mark Seireitei as a red zone and send a Captain here."

"A Captain?" Karin asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, they're basically the best of the best. A hunter reaches Captain level when he's killed 100 werewolves. They're widely known for their ruthlessness. Anyone who gets in their way is target, werewolf or not."

I'd ran into a Captain before. Not the most pleasant experience. At least none would be coming here. "Well that's slightly better. I guess. We won't have to deal with anyone else trying to hunt us down."

"Actually, the Council _is_ sending some hunters here to give us some help. They're just not Captains." Rukia mumbled.

Fuck me. At this rate I was going to end up dead, and not from being killed by hunters. A heart attack, stroke, aneurism, ulcer...so many stress-related deaths were more likely to end me. I leaned against the wall to give myself some support as I took a second to think. This was turning into a disaster. "Anyone else have some great news to add on?" I said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah! Shit!" Karin slapped her hand to her forehead. She then groaned and bit the tip of her thumb, giving me a funny look. "Toushiro, I forgot to tell you. You're having dinner with my family tomorrow night."

* * *

**And I still manage to end it on a cliffy! How cruel. But hey, at least the plot is finally rolling along. I predict much blood and drama in the near future! But of course, served with a side of dry humor and occasional fluff...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to see your reviews! Come on, let me know you're still with me :) See ya soon!**


End file.
